No abstract available.
Endorphins* ; Pain, Postoperative* ; Plasma*

BACKGROUND: Stress has long been known to play a role in many dermatologic disorders and can affect the onset and course of the disorder in some patients. Stress-induced exacerbation or onset of symptoms has been reported in chronic urticaria, alopecia areata, herpes simplex, herpes zoster, and psoriasis vulgaris, and these diseases can be classified as stress-associated dermatoses. Beta beta-endorphin is one of the most important mediators of stress, which is known to be generated upon stimulation of the pituitary-adrenal axis, and its secretion increases during periods of stress. OBJECTIVE: In order to see wheather beta-endorphin might be related to the onset or recurrence of stress-associated dermatoses, we compared the plasma concentration of beta-endorphin in patients with stress-associated dermatoses with those of healthy subjects. METHODS: The concentration of beta-endorphin. In sera was quantified by radioimmunoassay, using the INCSTAB 125I RIA Kit for plasma beta-endorphin, Each patient was asked to indicate if they believed that their skin problem began after an important stressful event in their lives. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in plasma beta-endorphin levels between patients with chronic urticaria, alopecia areata, herpes simplex, and herpes zoster and healthy subjects(p>0.05), whereas in patients with psoriasis vulgaris, plasma level of beta-endorphin was significantly increased (p<0.001). There was no relationship between the stressful events and plasma beta-endorphin concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: The plasma beta-endorphin level is not correlated with the onset or recurrence of stress-associated dermatoses such as chronic urticaria, alopecia areata, herpes simplex, and herpes zoster. The increase in beta-endorphin in psoriasis vulgaris is more likely that this peptide is generated by the lymphocyte infiltrated in the skin and/or by lymphocytes when they recirculate rather than by the activation of the pituitary-adrenal axis by stress.
Alopecia Areata ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; beta-Endorphin ; Endorphins* ; Herpes Simplex ; Herpes Zoster ; Humans ; Life Change Events ; Lymphocytes ; Plasma* ; Psoriasis ; Radioimmunoassay ; Recurrence ; Skin ; Skin Diseases* ; Urticaria

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of induction of general, spinal and epidural anesthesia on maternal and cord plasma beta-endorphin level in order to determine which mode of anesthesia is more stressful to the pregnant women and fetus. Immunoreactive beta-endorphin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in 56 maternal and /or cord plasma obtained from 40 pregnant women underwent cesarean section(15 under general anesthesia, 13 under spinal anesthesia, 12 under epidural anesthesia) and 16 normal pregnant women at term. The results were as follows: 1) The maternal plasma beta-endorphin level immediately prior to induction of general anesthesia was significantly higher than that in normal term pregnant women and before induction of epidural anesthesia. 2) No significant difference in maternal plasma beta-endorphin level between normal pregnant women at term and women before induction of spinal or epidural anesthesia was noted. 3) The maternal plasma endorphin level increased significantly after induction regardless of mode of anesthesia. The percent rise in maternal plasma beta-endorphin level with general anesthesia was significantly higher than that with epidural anesthesia. 4) The umbilical plasma beta-endorphin level was not affected by the mode of anesthesia. These data suggest that cesarean section under general anesthesia may be more stressful to the pregnant women than that under epidural anesthesia when circulating plasma endorphin is utilized as a maker of stress.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Epidural* ; Anesthesia, General ; Anesthesia, Spinal ; beta-Endorphin ; Cesarean Section ; Endorphins* ; Female ; Fetus ; Humans ; Plasma* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Radioimmunoassay ; Umbilical Cord*

The effects of morphine in bringing sleep and an end to pain have been known from the beginning of recorded history. But the existence of endogenous opiates(endorphin) has been demonstrated only in the last decade. Endorphin bind to opiate receptors and exhibit potent opiate-like activity. In the corticotroph cells of the anterior lobe of pitultary, ACTH and beta-endorphin are synthesized simultaneously. There is a hypothalamic releasing factor which causes the secretion both beta-endorphin and ACTH, but ACTH and beta-endorphine are also released simultaneously by stress. Endorphins adversely affect the circulatory status and these effects are reversed by the intravenous injection of the narcotic antagonist, naloxone. The author studied Dirksen's hypothesis that endorphins may be involved in the pathophysiology of hemorrhagic shock. In this experiment, the author divided in the pathophysiology of hemorrhagic shock. In this experiment, the author divided laboratory animals into 3 groups and administered normal saline, salicylate or hyprocortisone, respectively. l. normal saline pretreated group. ll. salicylate pretreated group. lll. hydrocortisone pretreated group. Each group was then divided into 4 subgroups and treated as follows: 1) hypovolemic shock + normal saline. 2) hypovolemic shock + naloxone. 3) hypovolemic shock + hydrocortisone. 4) hypovolemic shock + PGE1. The following results were obtained: 1) MAP was significantly increased after naloxone and PGE1 adminitration in the normal saline pretreated group. 2) MAP was not changed in the salicylate pretreated group. 3) MAP was significantly increased after naloxone and PGE1 administration in the hydrocortisone pretreated group. 4) Pulse pressure was significantly increased after anloxone, hydrocortisone and PGE1 administration in the normal saline and hydrocortisone pretreated groups. From the above experiment, it may be inferred that endorphins and prostaglandin may play a role in the pathophysiology of hypovolemic shock.
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; Alprostadil ; Animals ; Animals, Laboratory ; beta-Endorphin ; Blood Pressure ; Corticotrophs ; Endorphins ; Hydrocortisone ; Hypovolemia* ; Injections, Intravenous ; Morphine ; Naloxone* ; Pituitary Hormone-Releasing Hormones ; Rats* ; Receptors, Opioid ; Shock* ; Shock, Hemorrhagic

Naloxone, specific opiate antagonist, selectively elevates plasma dopamine level, with the dopamine changes significantly correlated with improved cardiovascular function and reduces the release of endorphin in the endorphin stress system. As the results, naloxone increases both, systemic blood pressure and regional blood flow, limiting secondary ischemic changes and improving neurological function in the C.N.S. lesion by the experimental studies. We have studied the clinical effects of naloxone on the 40 cases of C.N.S. lesions from April to October, 1983. We have discussed our results and reviewed literatures.
Blood Pressure ; Dopamine ; Endorphins ; Ischemia ; Naloxone* ; Plasma ; Regional Blood Flow

The pathological lesion in spinal injury is usually more severe in the central gray matter and spreads centrifugally to surrounding white matter. Opiate antagonists, naloxone, by blocking the pathophysiologic effect of endorphins, should increase both mean arterial pressure and spinal cord blood flow and limit neurologic injury. Naloxone produce increase of lateral column blood flow and ameliorate the central gray matter ischemia. We have investigated the effects of naloxone on histopathological change in cats subjected to thoracic cord contusion. The histopathological evaluation of the injured spinal cords in naloxone-treated cats had less tissue damage than would be observed in time-matched standards. The acute histopathology in saline-treated cats had lesions typical of what we would expect in untreated cats, but the chronic histopathology had slightly better than typical that.
Animals ; Arterial Pressure ; Cats ; Contusions ; Endorphins ; Ischemia ; Naloxone* ; Spinal Cord Injuries* ; Spinal Cord* ; Spinal Injuries

Moriccas technique, neuroadenolysis of the pituitary gland through direct injection of alcohol, was performed 5 times on three cancer patients at chonnam university hospital. Two of the three patients had complete pain relief. During this procedure there was no any severe complications except diabetes insipidus, but it was treated uneventfully with indomethacin and fluid administration. Although several theories including destructiorr of the thalamic and hypothalamic nerve pathway, pituitary hormone and endorphin on the mechanism of pain relief by the neuroadenolysis have been reported, it is still not clearly determined. This technique is considered to be an exceedingly useful method for management of intractable pain in inoperable cancer patients.
Diabetes Insipidus ; Endorphins ; Humans ; Indomethacin ; Jeollanam-do ; Pain, Intractable ; Phenol* ; Pituitary Gland

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between age and P3 parameters of the latency, amplitude, and reaction time, and to assess the changes of parameters in heathy volunteers after the manual stimulation of an acupoint He-7 which is used to treat convulsive disorder, anxiety and insomnia, and of a non-acupuncture point. METHOD: The P3 studies using an auditory paradigm and requiring a button press to infrequently occurring tones were performed in 36 healthy persons with age range from 21 to 72 years. The studies were repeated after the manual stimulation of an acupoint He-7 for 10 minutes and of a nonacupoint for 15 or 20 minutes afterwards. RESULTS: The mean P3 latency was 355.1+/-31.4 msec and reaction time was 691.4+/-139.7 msec. Significant correlations were seen between the age and P3 reaction time as well as latency. Considerable increase of P3 amplitude was observed after the stimulation of an acupoint He-7. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the P3 latency and reaction time are sensitive to age and the reaction from an acupoint He-7 stimulation may be related to the neuromodulation of noradrenaline or endorphine.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture* ; Anxiety Disorders ; Endorphins ; Humans ; Norepinephrine ; Reaction Time ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Volunteers

Septic shock is one of the leading cause of death in hospitalized patients and mortality rates of up to 50 % have been reported. Despite all efforts, no regimen today seems to be successful in the treatment of septic shock. The endogenous opioid system (EOS) includes three major families of peptides: dynorphins, endorphins and enkephalins. Several lines of evidence indicate that EOS is implicated in the pathophysiology of anaphylactic and endotoxic shock. An opioid receptor blocker naloxone has been used extensively in studies for the role of EOS or endogenous opiod peptides (EOP). However, there have been few, if any, detailed investigative studies regarding the effect of naloxone on TNF-a production and the lethality in response to endotoxin, and tumorigenesis. ...continue...
Carcinogenesis* ; Cause of Death ; Dynorphins ; Endorphins ; Enkephalins ; Humans ; Melanoma ; Mortality ; Naloxone* ; Nitric Oxide ; Peptides ; Receptors, Opioid* ; Shock, Septic*

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of different anesthesia ways on endorphin and hemodynamics of laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients in the perioperative phase.

METHODSA total of 90 laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients, 29 to 80 years old, were randomly assigned to Group A (treated with electroacupuncture at acupoints combined general anesthesia), Group B (treated with electroacupuncture at non-acupoints combined general anesthesia), and Group C (treated with general anesthesia) according to American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I-II, 30 cases in each group. All patients were induced by 3 microg/kg Fentanyl (Fen), 2 mg/kg Propofol (Pro), and 0.1 mg/kg Vecuronium (Vcr). Bispectral index (BIS), being 40 -65, indicated the state of general anesthesia. The anesthesia was maintained by intravenous injecting Pro, interruptedly intravenous injecting Fen and Vcr. Each patient received patient controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) after operation. On these bases, patients in Group A received electrical acupuncture at bilateral Hegu (LI4), Neiguan (PC6), Quchi (Ll11), Zusanli (ST36), and Yanglingquan (GB34). Patients in Group B received electrical acupuncture at the points beside acupoints. The electroacupuncture was lasted from 15 -30 min before anesthesia induction to the end of the operation in Group A and B. The heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac index (CI), cardiac output (CO), systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI), and acceleration index (ACI) were recorded before anesthesia induction, immediate before pneumoperitoneum, 5 min after pneumoperitoneum, excision of gallbladder, and at the end of operation. The time consumption from discontinuation to spontaneously breathing recovery, analeptic, and extubation were recorded. The blood samples (3 mL each time) were collected from the peripheral vein before anesthesia induction, 2 h after operation, the 1st day after operation, and the 3rd day after operation to detect the beta-endorphin (beta-EP) level. The visual analogue scale (VAS) were observed and recorded in the 3 groups at post-operative 4, 6, 8, 24, and 44 h, respectively.

RESULTS(1) Compared with before anesthesia induction in the same group, the CI, CO, ACI of all patients decreased significantly at 5 min after pneumoperitoneum and at excision of gallbladder (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). The HR, MAP, SVRI obviously increased in Group B and Group C at each time point (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Less change happened in Group A. Compared with Group C, the increment of MAP was less in Group A at 5 min after pneumoperitoneum, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05). (2) The time consumption from discontinuation to analeptic and extubation was obviously shorter in Group A than in Group B and Group C (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). (3) The level of beta-EP on the 1st day of operation was significantly lower in Group A than in Group B (P < 0.05) and Group C (P < 0.01). (4) The VAS score at post-operative 44 h was significantly lower in Group A than in Group B and Group C (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSElectroacupuncture at acupoints combined general anesthesia could maintain the stabilization of haemodynamics, and relieve the stress reaction after pneumoperitoneum and operation, and prolong it to early post-operative period, and strengthen the effects of post-operative analgesia. The post-operative recovery was fast, safe, and reliable.

Acupuncture Analgesia ; Adult ; Aged ; Anesthesia, General ; Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic ; Electroacupuncture ; Endorphins ; blood ; Female ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Perioperative Period