Biomedical subjects
S Balagura
Publications and source records attributed to S Balagura.
Spontaneous retraction of cerebellar tonsils after surgery for Arnold-Chiari malformation and posterior fossa cyst.
Magnetic resonance images obtained before and 2 months after surgical decompression for Arnold-Chiari type 1 malformation and an arachnoid cyst revealed retraction of the cerebellar tonsils from the spinal canal into the posterior fossa. This was associated with prominent functional recovery of the patient's ataxia and nystagmus. Such an observation may reflect a benign prognosis. Magnetic resonance imaging is the test of choice for the evaluation of this type of lesion.
The specificity of serum prolactin as a diagnostic indicator of pituitary adenoma.
Serum prolactin levels were determined in 205 patients with a variety of intracranial diseases, including 70 cases with pituitary tumors. It is concluded that although the absence of elevated prolactin levels does not help to rule out pituitary pathology, the presence of hyperprolactinemia is highly specific for diseases of the pituitary and hypothalamus, and prolactin determination should be part of the regular work-up of pituitary tumor suspects. Excluding known causes of hyperprolactinemia, such as tranquilizing drug ingestion, the presence of neurological disease outside the hypothalamic-pituitary area was not associated with increased serum prolactin concentrations.
Precocious puberty of cerebral origin.
Eighty-two cases of precocious puberty of cerebral origin were reviewed. All shared as a common factor the distortion, compression, or destruction of diencephalic structures. Attempts were made to parallel basic research findings with those derived from human pathology, hoping to gain further insight into the physiopathology of precocious puberty of cerebral origin.
Organismic states and their effect on recovery from neurosurgery: a new perspective with implications for a general theory.
The authors examine and review current research on recovery of function following brain damage. Emphasis is placed upon the physiological and neurochemical states of the organism prior to neurosurgery and their influences on behavioral recovery of function. It is proposed that the consequences of a given neurosurgical procedure depend not only on its neuroanatomical locus but also on the organismic state of the brain substrate at the time of such a procedure. The brain substrate can be modified prior to a given manipulation, resulting in an alternation of the effects of the manipulation. The implications of this new perspective for both basic research and clinical medicine are discussed.
Hyperdipsia associated with hypothalamic-midbrain hemorrhage.
A case of diencephalic-midbrain hemorrhage presenting with excessive thirst, coma, and death is discussed. Some diencephalic dysfunction syndromes are reviewed, as well as their physiological basis. Thirst and drinking behavior can provide a valuable localizing symptom and sign in clinical-pathological correlations.
A preprandial intake pattern in weanling rats ingesting a high fat diet.
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Insulin pretreatment facilitates recovery after dorsal hippocampal lesions.
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Tail pinch-induced arousal and stimulus-bound behavior in rats with lateral hypothalamic lesions. Further evaluation of hypothalamic control of feeding and drinking.
Arousal induced by tail pinching results in stimulus-bound feeding, licking and gnawing in male rats during the aphagic and adipsic phase that follows electrolytic damage to the lateral hypothalamus (LH). Such stimulus-bound behavior is very similar to electrically induced stimulus-bound behavior. Furthermore, brain-damaged animals during tail pinch-induced drinking trials are responsive to the sensory properties of the test liquid. Chocolate milk is consumed but tap water is actively rejected. Tail pinch to sham-operated control rats failed to induce such behavior; instead, it induced rage behavior towards the hand that pinched the tail. The results support the conclusion that rats with LH lesions require an arousing stimulus for feeding but that the same externally applied arousing stimulus enhances active rejection of tap water.
Meal patterning in the streptozotocin-diabetic rat.
The free feeding behavior of 5 streptozotocin-diabetic rats and 5 sham injected rats was monitored both prior to and after the induction of diabetes. After streptozotocin injection, there was a marked increase in total intake resulting from the ingestion of large meals of long durations. Neither the postprandial relationship nor the circadian intake cycle were altered during diabetes. The results were interpreted as supporting the glucostatic theory of food intake regulation and suggest that the principal influence of insulin on feeding behavior is to promote the termination of feeding bouts.
Relationship between endogenous, natural feeding patterns and body composition in the rat.
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Taste and physiological need in vitamin C intake by guinea pigs.
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Effect of the light-dark cycle on neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to scheduled feeding.
Rats, nocturnal animals, adapt both behaviorally and physiologically to a restricted feeding schedule. Such adaptations occur faster and more efficiently during the dark portion of a light-dark cycle as indicated by measurements of latency to eat, amount of food consumed, body weight, and insulin levels.
A critical evaluation of body weight loss following lateral hypothalamic lesions.
The possibility that factors in addition to motivational or psychomotor deficits contribute to body weight losses following lateral hypothalamic (LH) lesions was assessed in 2 experiments. Rats with LH lesions failed to gain weight when compared to sham-operated controls, when equal quantities of nutrients were given by intragastric feeding. They also lost weight more rapidly than controls under total starvation conditions regardless of whether food was present or absent in the G1 tract prior to surgery. These results could not be explained on the basis of differences in urine or fecal output or activity levels. An increase in core temperature was found in LH lesioned rats immediately following surgery and throughout the experimental period. These results suggest that lateral hypothalamic lesions induce a metabolic impairment.
Modification of feeding patterns by glucodynamic hormones.
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Fornicotomy: effect on the primary and secondary punishment of mouse killing by LiC1 poisoning.
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Influence of ovarian hormones on the recovery period following lateral hypothalamic lesions.
The effects of ovariectomy and its interaction with body weight on the recovery period following lateral hypothalamic lesions were examined. The results of the experiments indicated that body weight set point prior to lesioning, liable to be influenced by hormonal and metabolic factors, is a more important variable in modifying the recovery process after lateral hypothalamic lesions than is absolute body weight, while absolute body weight determines the amount of weight loss that follows lesions of the lateral hypothalamus.
Ontogeny of meal patterning in rats and its recapitulation during recovery from lateral hypothalamic lesions.
The development of feeding patterns was investigated in weanling rats and in rats with lateral hypothalamic lesions. From 16 to 25 days of age, the weanlings demonstrated a preprandial intake pattern, i.e., a positive correlation between meal size and time since the preceding meal. This subsequently declined while the postprandial relationship (correlation with time until subsequent meal) began to emerge such that by 30-35 days of age a full adult pattern was observed. Rats recovering from lateral hypothalamic lesions, for a brief period, also demonstrated a preprandial intake pattern. The postprandial relationship was abolished by the lesions. These results suggest that the development of adult meal patterning results from maturation of lateral hypothalamic mechanisms governing meal initiation.