Effect of long-term treatment of hyperactive children with methylphenidate.

Summary: Three groups of hyperactive children were compared by various measures of outcome 5 years after initial evaluation: 24 who were treated with methylphenidate for 3 to 5 years during the follow-up period, 22 treated with chlorpromazine for 18 months to 5 years, and 20 who had received no medication during the follow-up period. The three groups were matched with respect to age, IQ, socioeconomic class and sex. No statistically significant differences were found between the three groups on the following measures of outcome: emotional adjustment, delinquency, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Bender Gestalt visual-motor test and academic performance (as measured by number of grades failed). Initially there was a significant difference between the three groups on ratings of hyperactivity and family diagnosis. Hyperactivity scores decreased significantly over the 5 years; family diagnosis ratings changed little. Analysis of covariance for these two measures showed no difference in degree of improvement between the three groups. Our impression was that methylphenidate was helpful in making hyperactive children more manageable at home and at school, but did not significantly affect their outcome after 5 years of treatment.     

Absence of Intraspinal Sprouting in Dorsal Root Axons Caudal to a Partial Spinal Hemisection: A Horseradish Peroxidase Transport Study

Primary afferent sprouting in the spinal cord was evaluated by comparing the central projection of horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled sciatic nerve afferent axons in nonlesioned control rats, and in rats subjected to acute or chronic partial spinal hemisections as adults. The lesions were performed at various levels from T₁₀ to L₃, and removed supraspinal and varying amounts of descending propriospinal afferents to lumbar segments receiving the maximal sciatic projection. The hemisections typically involved all but the dorsal column, although in some cases a portion of the dorsal column, including the corticospinal tract, was also transected.

The distribution pattern and density of spinal HRP reaction product was not significantly different in experimental and control preparations in any segment below the lesion, regardless of the quantity of denervation, or the density of the normal sciatic projection in a given terminal region. These results, together with our previous finding concerning an absence of primary afferent sprouting following long-term dorsal root ganglionectomies, suggest that current concepts concerning collateral sprouting as a factor in functional plasticity in the mature mammalian spinal cord warrant re-evaluation.     

Structure-based design and synthesis of potent benzothiazole inhibitors of interleukin-2 inducible T cell kinase (ITK)

Inhibition of the non-receptor tyrosine kinase ITK, a component of the T-cell receptor signalling cascade, may represent a novel treatment for allergic asthma. Here we report the structure-based optimization of a series of benzothiazole amides that demonstrate sub-nanomolar inhibitory potency against ITK with good cellular activity and kinase selectivity. We also elucidate the binding mode of these inhibitors by solving the X-ray crystal structures of several inhibitor-ITK complexes.     

The effect of airplane noise on frogs: a case study on the Critically Endangered Pickersgill’s reed frog (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hyperolius pickersgilli</Emphasis>)

Species communicating acoustically may develop behavioral responses that aid them to transmit information and overcome signal masking in habitats disturbed by anthropogenic noise. Although many studies have concentrated on road traffic noise, very few studies mentioned effects of low flying airplane flyby noise on the vocal behavior of frogs. We studied the Critically Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed frog (Hyperolius pickersgilli) native to the eastern coastal regions of South Africa as a case study. In order to evaluate the call of H. pickersgilli, we compared a site with high levels of airplane flyby noise to a reference site without any airplane activity. Our results show that H. pickersgilli males made changes in both temporal and spectral properties of their call. Males call significantly more during and after an airplane flyby in relation to the call rate before the noise stimulus, but resumed normal call rhythms when measurements were taken 15 min after overflight. We found that males call at higher mean dominant frequencies (df difference = 161.4 Hz, P < 0.05) when exposed to high-intensity airplane flyby noise. In comparison with call rate 5 min before the airplane flyby, males called 12 % more during and 18 % more after the airplane flyby. Although changes in the spectral and temporal properties of the call of H. pickersgilli were observed, this species was actively calling for much longer than any other local species. This is the first study from Africa to report effects of anthropogenic noise on anuran communication.