Objective To observe the distribution of acetylcholinesterase activity in the thalamus of the monkey.Methods Histochemical method was used to detect the acetylcholinesterase activity in the thalamus.Results Acetylcholinesterase was found to be inhomogeneous distribution in the primate thalamus and to reveal previously uncovered inhomogeneity within certain thalamic nuclei and their subdivisions. The medial, ventral and posterior nuclear groups displayed markedly uneven acetylcholinesterase reaction.In the mediodorsal nucleus,three distinct sbudivisions were revealed by acetylcholinesterase histochemistry, medial magnocellular part, ventral sector of central parvicellular part and dorsolateral sector of lateral pars multiformity showed weak, moderate and strong acetylcholinesterase activity, respectively. In the ventral nuclear group, acetylcholinesterase histochemistry was strong in the medial part of ventral posterior nucleus, moderate in the magnocellular part of ventral anterior, caudal, medial, oral and pars postrema parts of ventral lateral nucleus, as well as lateral part of ventral posterior nucleus, poor and weak in the inferior part of ventral posterior nucleus, par compacta of the medial part of ventral posterior nucleus and parvicellular part of ventral anterior nucleus. In the pulvinar nucleus, acetylcholinesterase reaction ranged from weak, moderate to strong in the parts of the oral, medial and lateral, as well as inferior of this nucleus, respectively. Regional variations of acetylcholinesterase activity within the thalamic nuclei and their subdivisions can help to identify them by acetylcholinesterase histochemistry. In addition, the dark patches of strong acetylcholinesterase activity contrasting with a lighter surrounding matrix were revealed within the parvicellular part and pars multiformis of mediodorsal nucleus, paracentral nucleus, central lateral nucleus, pars postrema part of ventral lateral nucleus and medial habenula nucleus, as well as medial part of pulvinar necleus, respectively.Conclusion Acetylcholinesterase histochemistry can serve as useful marker for delineating the thalamic nuclei and their sbudivisions. The different distribution of acetylcholinesterase histochemistry implies the activity of thalamic nuclei may be modulated by cholinergic systems.

Objective To study mechanism and clinical meaning of endothelin(ET) and neuron specific enolase (NSE) in patients with acute stroke.Methods The contents of ET and NSE in blood and cerebrospinal fluid were measured by RIA in patients with acute stroke, and correlation analysis of the contents of ET and NSE with different lesion area,severe degree and different period of the disease was performed.Results The contents of ET and NSE in acute cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction groups were significantly higher than those in control group ( P

Objective To investigate the changes of the cognitive function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus,and the correlated sensitive index and risk factors were evaluated.Methods Mini-mental state examination (MMSE),Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) and Event-related potentials (ERP) were tested in 100 type 2 diabetic cases and 40 normal controls,and the relations of cognitive function,P_3 peak latency (PL) to course of disease,treatment and glycohemoglobin A1 (GhbA1) were analysed respectively.Results The scores of MMSE and WMS-R in patient group were lower than those in control group( P

0.05). The scores of sub items of MMSE including place orientation,time orientation,short time memory,account ability,language expression,language repetition,figure portrayal in patients with VCI were lower than those in normal subjects (all P

Objective To investigate the change and its mechanism of serum S100? protein and C-reactive protein (CRP) content in patients with acute cerebral infarction(ACI).Methods The content of serum S100? and CRP in 54 patients with ACI and 21 normal control were measured. The changes of S100? and CRP were compared with patients of different pathogenetic condition and infarction sige. The correlation analysis between S100? and CRP was also made.Results The level of serum S100? and CRP in patients with ACI increased significantly compared with control group (all P

Objective To explore alterations of cognitive function and P300 in depressed patients with Parkinson's disease(PD).Methods Zung's self-rating depression scale(SDS) and Hamilton depression rating scale(HAMD) were used to divide the 67 patients with PD into two groups, PD with depression and PD without depression. The cognitive function and P300 were measured, further comparing and the correlation analysis were made.Results The score of Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) in the PD patients was in normal extent,but significantly lower than that in the normal controls(P

Objective To observe the effects of cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors and prostaglandin (PG) receptor blocker on hyperalgesia of diabetic rats. Methods Nociceptive paw-withdrawal threshold (NPWT) and thermal latency (TL) of diabetic hyperalgesic rats were tested after subcutaneous injections of COX inhibitors indomethacin and meloxicam, and EP 1 PG receptor blocker SC-19220 into the dorsum of the hindpaw of the rats. Results Indomethacin, a classic inhibitor of COX, produced a significant and long-lasting relief of mechanical hyperalgesia in diabetic hyperalgesic rats. Meloxicam, a selective cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitor, alleviated mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia, but with a shorter duration. SC-19220, a selective EP 1 PG receptor blocker, produced significant relief of mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia. Conclusion COX inhibitors and EP 1 PG receptor blocker relieve hyperalgesia of diabetic rats, which suggests that PGs play an important role in inducing and maintaining hyperalgesia in diabatic rats.

Objective To observe the effect o f selective prostaglandins EP 1 receptor antagonist SC19220 on the afferent activity of C unit in the saphenous nerve of diabetic rats. Methods The response of C units to sustained 1 min threshol d and suprathreshold stimuli was measured following intradermal injection of EP 1 receptor antagonist SC19220 into the receptive field of C unit of the sa phenous nerve in control and diabetic rats. Results The mechanical threshold of C units in diabetic rat s was obviously decreased compared with that of control rats (P

Objective To investigate changes in the firing activities of nucleus accumbens (NAc)neurons and their response to 5-HT7 receptor stimulation in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease (PD).Methods The firing activities and response of NAc neurons to 5-HT7 receptor agonist in PD rats were recorded by in vivo electroneurophysiology and neuropharmacology and then were compared with those in the sham group.Results The mean firing rate of NAc neurons was (5.46 ±0.88)Hz in the sham rats and (3.77 ±0.48)Hz in the PD rats. The firing rate of NAc neurons increased significantly compared with that in the sham rats (P <0.05).In PD rats, 65% of NAc neurons fired in bursts and 35% fired irregularly.However,in the sham rats,57.5% of NAc neurons fired in bursts and 42.5% fired irregularly.There was no significant difference in the firing pattern of NAc neurons between the PD and sham rats (P >0.05 ).Systemic administration of 5-HT7 receptor agonist AS1 9 increased the firing rate of NAc neurons in the sham and PD rats.This excitation was significant at a high dose of 1 60 μg/kg for NAc neurons in the sham rats (P <0.05).However,the excitation produced by AS1 9 was significant at a high dose of 80 μg/kg in PD rats (P <0.05).The cumulative dose-produced excitation in the PD rats was lower than that in the sham rats.The effects induced by AS1 9 were reversed by the 5-HT7 receptor antagonist SB269970 in both groups.Conclusion The reinforced firing activity of NAc neurons might be mediated by 5-HT7 receptor in the neurons of PD rats.

Objective To assess the predictive value of short-latency somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) in the acute phase of stroke regarding functional recovery. Methods One hundred and fifty stroke patients were included. SSEPs were recorded on the first 7 days after stroke, and the patients were then stratified into groups with absent, abnormal and normal responses. Clinical state was determined according to the NIH stroke scale (NIHSS), the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA), the modified Barthel index (MBI) and the modified Rankin scale (MRS). SSEP was followed up at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Results The NIHSS and FMA scores were significantly different comparing any two groups or at different times in the same group. The median SSEP N20 latency and tibial nerve SSEP P40 latency during stroke were positively correlated with MRS scores 12 months later but negatively correlated with MBI results. The ADL results 12 months after stroke were used to evaluate functional recovery, and the prediction rate of the SSEP results alone was 40.8% , however the rate improved to 44.2% when SSEP results were combined with FMA scores and became 46.1% when SSEP, FMA and MRS results were all considered. Conclusion SSEP has independent predictive value regarding functional recovery after stroke. Combined assessment of initial FMA, MRS and SSEP substantially improves the predictive power for stroke prognosis.