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Biomedical subjects

U Stenevi

Publications and source records attributed to U Stenevi.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Visual results after RK.

The series of radial keratotomy (RK) in 79 myope eyes in 60 patients was studied to evaluate improvement of uncorrected visual acuity. The main aim with radial keratotomy was to help patients see better without glasses or contact lenses. Myopia ranged from -1.0 D to -9.0 D. Forty-two eyes (53%) achieved uncorrected visual acuity (VA) of 1.0 or better and 73 eyes (92%) better than 0.5. The follow-up period ranged from 3 months to 3.5 years. Postoperatively the most common complication was undercorrection. The risk for progressive myopia made surgeons cautious not to overcorrect patients and to leave them slightly myopic.

Adult↗

Functional reactivation of the deafferented hippocampus by embryonic septal grafts as assessed by measurements of local glucose utilization.

Transection of the septo-hippocampal connections through fimbria-fornix damage in the rat results in profound hippocampal cholinergic deafferentation, and, when applied bilaterally, leads to severe and long-lasting impairments in learning and memory. Previous studies have shown that intrahippocampal septal grafts can reestablish a new cholinergic in the initially denervated hippocampal formation and at least partly compensate for the lesion-induced learning impairments in fimbria-fornix lesioned rats. The purpose of the present study was to determine the magnitude of lesion-induced alterations in cerebral function as reflected in local glucose use measured by (14C)-2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) autoradiography, and the degree to which this index of functional activity could be normalized following reinnervation from transplants of fetal cerebral tissue from the primordial septal region. Six months after unilateral fimbria-fornix transection the rate of glucose utilization was reduced markedly throughout the ipsilateral hippocampus when compared to the intact contralateral side, while in the neocortex only the cingulate cortex showed long-lasting reductions in glucose use. Rats that received a transplant of fetal septal-diagonal band tissue at the time of fimbria-fornix transection, and were sacrificed 6 months later, displayed significantly greater glucose utilization in the ipsilateral hippocampus and cingulate cortex than was measured in these areas in rats with lesion alone. The recovery in glucose use was paralleled by a significant increase in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) staining in several areas of the ipsilateral hippocampal formation and cingulate cortex. This index of graft-induced cholinergic reinnervation was, moreover, significantly correlated with the rate of glucose use. Thus, in the fimbria-fornix transected animals the magnitude of glucose depression correlated with the extent of reduction in AChE staining, and in the grafted animals the degree of normalization of glucose use was correlated with the graft-induced increase in AChE-staining density. These results thus indicate that the 2-DG autoradiographic technique can provide a unique opportunity to map both altered functional activity in localized areas of the brain following specific lesions and the extent to which transplant-derived reinnervation of the host may induce a return to normal functional levels in the target site.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

Anatomical and functional consequences of grafting mesencephalic neurons into a peripheral nerve "bridge" connected to the denervated striatum.

Adult rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the nigrostriatal pathway were tested for amphetamine-induced rotational asymmetry. In animals with functional deficits a fetal mesencephalic transplant was placed intracranially over the superior colliculus within the caudal end of a 2- to 3-cm-long heterologous sciatic nerve segment laid longitudinally on the skull. Two months later the rostral tip of the peripheral nerve graft was cut and inserted through a burr-hole into the denervated striatum. Animals were tested monthly for 5 months for rotational asymmetry and selected rats were sacrificed for histochemical examination. It was shown that the use of a peripheral nerve segment as a bridge between a distant neuronal transplant and a selected region of the adult host brain resulted in the growth of monoaminergic axons into the denervated striatum from the extracerebrally located grafted neurons. The nerve bridge was cut extracranially in rats whose rotational asymmetry had decreased towards normal levels to determine if this behaviour was dependent on axons reaching the striatum through the graft. Each of these animals exhibited an increase in rotational asymmetry one and three weeks after the transection of the nerve. These anatomical and functional observations suggest that the decrease in rotational asymmetry observed in these animals is related to the growth of long axons from the implanted mesencephalic neurons into the denervated host's striatum which traversed the entire peripheral nerve segment.

Animals↗

Cyclic AMP concentrations in rat neocortex and hippocampus during and following incomplete ischemia: effects of central noradrenergic neurons, prostaglandins, and adenosine.

The concentrations of cyclic AMP, noradrenaline, glycogen, glucose, lactate, pyruvate, labile phosphate compounds, and free fatty acids were investigated in the rat neocortex and hippocampus during and following cerebral ischemia. An incomplete ischemia of 5 and 15 min duration was induced by bilateral carotid clamping combined with hypotension. The postischemic events were studied after 5, 15, and 60 min of recirculation. Five minutes of ischemia did not significantly alter the neocortical or hippocampal concentrations of cyclic AMP. After 15 min of ischemia the neocortical levels decreased significantly below control values. In the recirculation period following ischemia a significant elevation of the cyclic AMP concentrations was observed. Following 5 min of recirculation after 5 min of ischemia the levels increased from 2.53 +/- 0.21 nmol X g-1 to 5.18 +/- 0.09 nmol X g-1 in the neocortex and from 2.14 +/- 0.16 nmol X g-1 to 3.52 +/- 0.35 nmol X g-1 in the hippocampus. Five minutes of recirculation following 15 min of ischemia led to a significant increase in the levels of cyclic AMP, to 12.86 +/- 1.43 nmol X g-1 in the neocortex to 5.58 +/- 0.57 nmol X g-1 in the hippocampus. With longer recirculation periods the cyclic AMP levels progressively decreased and were similar to control values after 60 min. Depletion of cortical noradrenaline by at least 95% was performed by injections of 6-hydroxydopamine into the ascending axon bundles from the locus ceruleus. The lesion did not significantly change the ischemic or post-ischemic neocortical and hippocampal levels of cyclic AMP, glycogen, or free fatty acids including arachidonic acid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenosine↗

Efferent synaptic connections of grafted dopaminergic neurons reinnervating the host neostriatum: a tyrosine hydroxylase immunocytochemical study.

In adult rats with a unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine-induced destruction of the nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) pathway, grafts of embryonic substantia nigra can establish a new dopaminergic terminal fiber plexus in the previously denervated neostriatum and compensate for some of the behavioral deficits induced by the nigrostriatal lesion. In the present study the synaptic connections of the ingrowing DA fibers from the graft were analyzed ultrastructurally, using immunocytochemical localization of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), in animals whose lesion-induced motor asymmetry had been completely compensated for by the nigral grafts. In two of the animals, horseradish peroxidase-wheatgerm agglutinin conjugate was injected into the graft in order to trace possible reciprocal afferent connections to the graft from the host striatum. TH-immunoreactive axons from the graft were seen to make abundant symmetric synapses with neuronal elements in the host neostriatum. Between 85 and 90% of these synapses were on dendritic shafts and spines, and the rest were on neuronal perikarya. Two principal targets were identified: dendrites of spiny neurons, the majority of which are likely to be striatal projection neurons; and the cell bodies of giant neurons, most (or perhaps all) of which are known to be cholinergic interneurons. The synapses made on dendritic spines, which constituted about 40% of all TH-positive synapses formed by the TH-positive neurons in the graft, resembled those seen in normal animals, both in that they made contacts with spine necks and in that they invariably were associated with an asymmetric TH-negative synapse contacting the spine head. The innervation of the giant cell perikarya, which constituted about 6% of all TH-positive synapses found, was strikingly abnormal in that the graft-derived TH-positive fibers formed dense pericellular "baskets" selectively around the giant cell bodies. Such arrangements were never seen in the normal striatum, nor did they occur in the intact contralateral striatum in the grafted animals. It is proposed that this apparent dopaminergic hyperinnervation from the graft could provide a powerful inhibition of the cholinergic interneurons in the reinnervated host striatum, and that such an inhibitory mechanism could assist in the graft-induced functional recovery by potentiating the functional effects of DA synapses terminating on the spiny efferent neurons. This dual innervation may thus help to explain why restoration of only a small proportion of the striatal DA innervation by the graft is sufficient to induce complete compensation of, e.g., motor asymmetry in the lesioned rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

Intrahippocampal septal grafts ameliorate learning impairments in aged rats.

Grafts of fetal septal tissue rich in cholinergic neurons were implanted as a dissociated cell suspension into the depth of the hippocampal formation in aged rats with severe impairments in spatial learning abilities. After 2 1/2 to 3 months, the rats with grafts, but not the controls, had improved their performance in a spatial learning test. Their improvement was due, at least in part, to an increased ability to use spatial cues in the task. In all animals the grafts had produced an extensive acetylcholinesterase-positive terminal network in the surrounding host hippocampal formation. Thus, the action of cholinergic neurons in the graft onto elements in the host hippocampal circuitry may be a necessary, but perhaps not sufficient, prerequisite for the observed functional recovery.

Aging↗

Fetal mesencephalic neurons survive and extend long axons across peripheral nervous system grafts inserted into the adult rat striatum.

In adult rats whose nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) pathway had been chemically damaged we implanted a fetal mesencephalic graft over the superior colliculus and joined it to the denervated striatum by means of an approximately 2 cm long segment of heterologous sciatic nerve. Monoaminergic neurons within the implant extended axons along the entire length of the nerve bridges and of these fibers extended into the striatum, which is the normal target of nigral projections. Thus, combinations of fetal neuronal and peripheral nervous system grafts can be used in vivo to provide both a source and a substrate for lengthy axonal growth.

Animals↗

Cells of origin of the ventral cholinergic septohippocampal pathway undergoing compensatory collateral sprouting following fimbria-fornix transection.

The axons of the septohippocampal pathway reach the hippocampal formation via the fimbria, dorsal fornix and supracallosal striae. Complete lesions of these pathways denervate most of the hippocampal formation but a small, residual innervation occurs via a different ventral route. The cells of origin for this additional route for cholinergic innervation of the hippocampal formation have been identified in the present study with a combined technique using a fluorescent retrograde tracer and acetylcholinesterase histochemistry. These cells were localized to the diagonal band of Broca. In a subsequent experiment it was demonstrated, by destroying these cells unilaterally, that they were responsible to a large extent for the cholinergic compensatory collateral sprouting in the hippocampus that has previously been shown to develop following complete fimbria-fornix transection.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

Dopamine and cholecystokinin immunoreactive neurons in mesencephalic grafts reinnervating the neostriatum: evidence for selective growth regulation.

Pieces of embryonic mesencephalic tissue rich in dopamine and cholecystokinin immunoreactive neurones were grafted to the dorsal surface of the caudate-putamen of adult host rats subjected to unilateral dopamine depleting lesions. After 3 months, neuronal survival in the graft and fibre outgrowth into the host brain were studied by tyrosine hydroxylase and cholecystokinin immunohistochemistry, both in serial sections and by elution and restaining of the same sections. Both dopamine- and cholecystokinin-containing neurones as well as neurons containing both compounds survived the transplantation process. The ratio of neurones in which dopamine and cholecystokinin-like immunoreactivity occurred independently and in coexistence was similar in the grafts to that seen in the intact ventral mesencephalon. This suggests that the grafted cells maintain and express at least some of their normal chemical characteristics in the ectopic cortical location. Only those fibres which contained tyrosine hydroxylase but apparently lacked the cholecystokinin-like peptide showed extensive reinnervation of the host neostriatum. The cholecystokinin-positive fibres were found in a narrow zone immediately adjoining the graft. These results indicate that the dopaminergic reinnervation of the denervated neostriatum is preferentially carried out by the population of grafted mesencephalic dopamine neurones apparently lacking the cholecystokinin-like peptide. This suggests the presence of growth regulating mechanisms in the denervated neostriatum which selectively favour the ingrowth of fibres from the appropriate dopaminergic neuronal subset. The transplantation technique may therefore provide a powerful tool for the study of neurone-target interactions in the establishment of neuronal connections, and of the possible role of peptidergic coexistence in the development and organization of monoaminergic pathways and their innervation patterns.

Animals↗

Hippocampal deafferentation: transplant-derived reinnervation and functional recovery.

A brief review of the capacity of neural tissue transplants to reinnervate the deafferented hippocampus and repair functional deficits induced by the lesion. The techniques for transplantation of solid pieces of embryonic septum, locus coeruleus or raphe nuclei, or tissue suspensions of embryonic septum, to the adult rat hippocampus are described. Such grafts manifest good long-term survival, provide a good reinnervation of the hippocampus that is histochemically and biochemically appropriate and specific, can establish ultrastructural synaptic contacts with the host, and are electrophysiologically active. Rats with septal grafts manifest recovery of the capacity to learn certain aspects of radial 8-arm maze. T-maze alternation and Morris water-maze tasks. Rats with locus coeruleus grafts manifest an amelioration of lesion-induced hyperactivity. It is concluded that neural tissue transplantation provides a powerful new tool in the study of the functional organization of the hippocampus and its various neurotransmitter-specific afferent systems.

Afferent Pathways↗

Aged rats: recovery of motor impairments by intrastriatal nigral grafts.

Dissociated cell suspensions, prepared from the substantia nigra and septal regions of rat embryos, can be grafted to the depths of the caudate-putamen and hippocampus of aged rats. The grafts were rich in dopamine-containing and acetylcholinesterase-positive neurons and had produced extensive new dopaminergic and cholinergic terminal networks in the host neostriatum and hippocampus, respectively. The intrastriatal dopaminergic grafts were associated with a significant improvement in motor coordination in the aged rats. This result suggests that the intracerebral grafting technique may provide a new tool for exploring the role of dopaminergic and cholinergic deficits in the neurological and behavioral impairments associated with aging.

Acetylcholine↗

Local regulation of compensatory noradrenergic hyperactivity in the partially denervated hippocampus.

Functional recovery after denervating lesions in the central nervous system (CNS) is particularly prominent if part of the lesioned projection is spared. Several plasticity mechanisms, such as collateral sprouting, hyperactivity of remaining axons and development of receptor supersensitivity, probably contribute to efficient recovery after subtotal lesions. Although denervation-induced collateral sprouting and presynaptic compensatory hyperactivity in spared axons have been described in various systems, any possible interaction or cooperation between the two mechanisms in restoring synaptic transmission in a partially denervated target has so far not been demonstrated. We have shown previously that partial adrenergic denervation of the hippocampus in adult rats is followed by a slow and protracted reinnervation by collateral sprouting from the spared adrenergic afferents. We now report that the partial adrenergic deafferentation is accompanied by a transient increase in turnover of the transmitter in remaining axons which subsides when the denervated region becomes reinnervated, and that the development of this compensatory hyperactivity is confined to the area of maximal denervation. The topographical specificity of the compensatory noradrenergic hyperactivity response, and the interaction between this hyperactivity and the collateral reinnervation process, strongly suggest that the changes in transmitter turnover in spared afferents after denervating lesions can be regulated by local mechanisms operating within the denervated target area.

Animals↗

Reinnervation of the partially deafferented hippocampus by compensatory collateral sprouting from spared cholinergic and noradrenergic afferents.

The cholinergic and adrenergic afferents innervating the hippocampal formation in the rat reach the target region via three distinctly separate routes, two dorsal and one ventral one. Partial deafferentation of the hippocampus obtained by destruction of the dorsal routes (through the fimbria-fornix and the supracallosal striae) resulted in removal of 90% and 60% of the cholinergic and adrenergic innervations, respectively, within one month. By 6-10 months after lesion, the remaining cholinergic and adrenergic inputs, reaching the target via the ventral route, had expanded more than two-fold, resulting in a significant recovery in the original cholinergic and adrenergic innervation patterns. Because of its slow and protracted time-course and its ability to re-establish innervation also in initially denervated areas, this compensatory collateral sprouting phenomenon may be of particular interest for the understanding of the long-term, protracted functional recovery that is seen both after experimental brain lesions as well as in patients with severe brain injuries.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

Functional correlates of compensatory collateral sprouting by aminergic and cholinergic afferents in the hippocampal formation.

Selective lesions of discrete aminergic and cholinergic afferent pathways to the hippocampal formation have been studied as an experimental model of behavioral recovery after partial hippocampal deafferentation in adult rats. The noradrenergic, serotoninergic and cholinergic afferents reach the hippocampal formation along three routes: a supracallosal pathway, a subcallosal pathway (along the fimbria-fornix), and a ventral pathway (along the ansa lenticularis and the ventral amygdaloid pathway). Bi-lateral lesion of the supracallosal pathway resulted in significant reductions in biochemical markers of the hippocampal noradrenergic, serotoninergic and cholinergic innervations. Within 6 weeks following lesion these markers were found to have recovered to levels close to normal. A more substantial deafferentation, obtained by a bilateral lesion of both dorsal pathways, resulted in a more profound initial decrease in the biochemical marker levels, and a less complete recovery in the long-term animals. Concomitant with the initial phase of deafferentation, rats with lesions of one or both of the dorsal afferent pathways exhibited an equally profound behavioral deficit in acquisition of a forced choice alternation learning task in a T-maze. However, while rats subjected to the combined supracallosal-fimbria-fornix lesion remained impaired, the ones with lesions of the supracallosal pathway alone exhibited a significant recovery of the capacity to perform the maze task. The correlation between behavioral recovery and recovery of the biochemical markers in the supracallosal pathway-lesioned group was significant for the serotoninergic innervation of the hippocampus. The present results suggest that reinnervation of the partially deafferented hippocampus through compensatory collateral sprouting is a valuable new experimental model system within which to analyze mechanisms underlying functional recovery after lesions in the CNS.

Afferent Pathways↗