Postmortem studies

The implementation of high-pressure reaction cells in conjunction with UFIV surface science techniques allowed the first tme in situ postmortem studies of a heterogeneous catalytic reaction. These cells penult exposure of a sample to ambient pressures without any significant contamination of the UFIV enviromnent. The first such cell was internal to the main vacuum chamber and consisted of a metal bellows attached to a reactor cup [34]- The cup could be translated using a hydraulic piston to envelop the sample, sealing it from... 

Qureshi et al." evaluated the timing of deterioration in patients with massive MCA strokes in a multicenter retrospective chart review. They found that 68% of patients manifested clinical deterioration by 48 hours, and nearly another 20% did so by 72 hours. Thus, the first 3-5 days appears to be the most crucial time for detecting patients at high risk for deterioration, although there was a small minority of patients who had deterioration at greater than 5 days from symptom onset. Early impairment in consciousness was also found to be predictive of mortality in one cohort of patients within a randomized chnical trial." One postmortem study of 192 patients found features in 45 patients that they postulate led to mahgnant ... 

Goodwin LR, Francom D, Dieken FP, et al. 1989. Determination of sulfide in brain tissue by gas dialysis/ion chromatography Postmortem studies and two case reports. J Anal Toxicol 13 105-109. 

Rajkowska G. Postmortem studies in mood disorders indicate altered numbers of neurons and glial cells. Biol Psychiatry 2000. 

NMDA receptors are anchored in the postsynaptic density (PSD95, 95 kDa), a complex with which over 80 proteins have been associated (see Ch. 15). Postmortem studies have examined the expression of the subunits of the NMDA receptors as well as components of the PSD [29]. In one study in the thalamus, the NR1 and NR2B subunits were decreased in schizophrenia and PSD95, SAP102 (Synapse Associated Protein kDa 102) and NF-L (Neurofilament-Light), components of the PSD, were also significantly reduced with the latter reduction also found in bipolar disorder. Similarly, other studies have shown... 

Proteins involved in the fundamental structure and function of neurons are decreased in schizophrenia. Several postmortem studies have identified consistent reductions in the expression of mitochondrial associated genes involved in oxidative metabolism, such as cytochrome oxidase and cytochrome C reductase [23], Reduced oxidative metabolism is consistent with evidence of increased brain lactate,... 

Serotonergic function has been investigated by using multiple methods. Assaying the major metabolite of serotonin, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been widely used (Ch. 13). This method assumes that CSF 5-HIAA is related to brain serotonin activity. This premise is supported by the rostral-caudal concentration gradient of CSF 5-HIAA and the observation in postmortem studies that CSF 5-HIAA correlates with levels of 5-HIAA in prefrontal cortex [16], both of which suggest that CSF 5-HIAA is a reasonable index of prefrontal serotonin turnover. ... 

Other abnormalities are more trait-like, and persist following symptom remission. They are found in orbital and medial prefrontal cortex areas where postmortem studies have also documented reductions in cortex volume and histopathologic changes in primary mood disorders [68], Evidence from brain mapping, lesion analysis and electrophysiologic studies of humans and experimental... 

Protocols for these studies are similar to those for studies of shorter duration, except that a minimum of 15 to 20 rodents per group and 4 nonrodents per sex per group are required. All of the previously described in-life and postmortem studies are required. Toxicokinetic measurements are required at time points up to and including the termination of the study. 

Hauw JJ, Escourolle R, Baulac M, et al. 1986. Postmortem studies on posthypoxic and post-methyl bromide intoxication Case reports. Adv Neurol 43 201-214. 

The etiologies of the neurodegenerative diseases are still largely unknown but, especially for AD and PD, postmortem studies have shown clear links between the disease and a deficiency of neurotransmitters in some parts of the brain. Thus, in PD there is a chronic shortage of dopamine... 

We recently described the postmortem study of one of our patients who received ABMMNCs [154]. Eleven months after performing the treatment, we... 

J.O. Rinne, T. Myllykyla, P. Ldnnberg, P. MarjamakI, A postmortem study of brain nicotinic receptors In Parkinson s and Alzheimer s disease. Brain Res. 547 (1991) 167-170. 

A number of studies have repeatedly measured increased CRF-like immunoreactivity in the CSF of untreated patients with major depression (e.g., Nemeroff et ah, 1984). A recent study using serial CSF sampling over 30 hours has provided evidence for inadequately high CRF activity in major depression in the face of sustained hypercortisolism (Wong et ah, 2000). Postmortem studies have further provided evidence for increased CRF concentrations and CRF mRNA expression in hypothalamic tissue of depressed patients as well as decreased CRF receptor binding, likely due to chronic CRF hypersecretion, in the frontal cortex of suicide victims (Nemeroff et ah, 1988 Raadsheer et ah, 1994, 1995). These findings are consistent with indices of increased CRF activity in the hypothalamus and other structures in animals models of early-life stress. Direct measures of central CRF release in humans with early-life stress are still unavailable. 

Postmortem studies of humans with opiate dependence have shown that p-opiate receptor density is unchanged in frontal cortex, thalamus, and caudate. In contrast, a-2 adrenoceptor density is decreased in these... 

Recent postmortem studies by Komoroski et al. utilized high-resolution P NMR spectroscopy such that GPC, GPE, PC, and PE signals could be quantified individually without contamination from the short T2 phospholipids.They found no significant differences in the membrane precursors PC and PE in schizophrenics compared to controls. GPC was foimd to be significantly increased among male schizophrenics relative to controls in extracts from the frontal, temporal, and occipital regions. While this finding is possibly attributable to schizophrenia, it is likely that... 

Postmortem studies of patients with idiopathic Parkinson s disease demonstrate cell loss in the striatal system (A-9), directly implicating this tract vis-a-vis the neuroleptic-induced pseudoparkinsonian side effects. The assumption that psychosis is related to the A-10 system is made by exclusion. Evidence also indicates that clozapine may differentially block DA pathways. Specifically, it seems to act on the mesolimbic dopaminergic system (A-10), while being relatively inactive in the striatal system (A-9) however, this remains controversial. Chronic administration of clozapine decreases the firing rate of A-10 mesocortical tract dopamine neurons... 

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