ESTIMATION OF THE NUMBER OF NEURONS IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS OF RATS WITH PENICILLIN INDUCED EPILEPSY

Epilepsy is a neurological disease arising from strong and uncontrollable electrical firings of a group of neurons in the central nervous system. Experimental epileptic models have been developed to assess the physiopathology of epileptic seizures. This study was undertaken to estimate the number of neurons in the rat hippocampus with penicillin induced epilepsy, using a stereological method, "the optical fractionator". In the experimental group, 500 IU penicillin-G was injected intra-cortically, and in the control group, the same volume of saline was administered. A week later, the animals were decapitated and their brains were removed by craniatomy. Frozen brains were cut with a thickness of 150 ěm in a cryostat. Sections were collected by systematic random sampling and stained with hematoxylen-eosin. Microscopic images of pyramidal cell layers from hippocampus CA1, CA2 and CA3 subfields were then transferred to a monitor, using a 100x objective (N.A. = 1.25). Using the optical disector method, the neurons were counted in the frames and determined with a fractionator sampling scheme. The total pyramidal neuron number was then estimated using the optical fractionator method. The total pyramidal neuron number was found to be statistically lower in the experimental group (mean = 142,888 ± 11,745) than in the control group (mean = 177,953 ± 10,907) (p < 0.05). The results suggest that a decrease in the hippocampal neuronal number in a penicillin model of epilepsy can be determined objectively and efficiently using the optical fractionator method

CT demonstration of vascular anatomy in pelvic ectopic kidney

A rare case of an ectopic kidney was detected during an abdominal CT examination of a 54-year-old female. While the right kidney was in the normal position, the left one was located in the pelvic fossa between the L3 and S1 vertebral levels. It received its blood supply from two renal arteries. The first renal artery to the ectopic kidney (A1) was from the distal aorta at the level of L3 entering the superior pole of the kidney on the lateral side, and the second renal artery to the ectopic kidney (A2) was from the contralateral common iliac artery posteriorly at the L3-L4 intervertebral disc level. The renal vein was anterior to the renal artery and drained into the left common iliac vein. The left renal pelvis was anterior to the renal vein. A knowledge of the renal vascular anatomy in ectopic kidneys is important in kidney transplantation and aortic surgery

The heritage of the children of Asclepius in modern medicine

[No abstract available

Hippocampal neuron number loss in rats exposed to ingested sulfite

Sulfite, which is continuously formed in the body during metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids, is commonly used in preservatives. It has been shown that there are toxic effects of sulfite on many cellular components. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible toxic effects of sulfite on pyramidal neurons by counting cell numbers in CA1 and CA2-CA3 subdivisions of the rat hippocampus. For this purpose, male albino rats were divided into a control group and a sulfite group (25 mg/kg). Sulfite was administered to the animals via drinking water for 8 weeks. At the end of the experimental period, brains were removed and neurons were estimated in total and in a known fraction of CA1 and CA2-CA3 subdivisions of the left hippocampus by using the optical fractionator method-a stereological method. Results showed that sulfite treatment caused a significant decrease in the total number of pyramidal neurons in three subdivisions of the hippocampus (CA1 and CA2-CA3) in the sulfite group compared with the control group (p < 0.05, Mann Whitney U test). It was concluded that exogenous administration of sulfite causes loss of pyramidal neurons in CA1 and CA2-CA3 subdivisions of the rat hippocampus

Penicillin-induced epilepsy model in rats: Dose-dependant effect on hippocampal volume and neuron number

This study was designed to evaluate the penicillin-induced epilepsy model in terms of dose-response relationship of penicillin used to induce epilepsy seizure on hippocampal neuron number and hippocampal volume in Sprague-Dawley rats. Seizures were induced with 300, 500, 1500 and 2000 IU of penicillin-G injected intracortically in rats divided in four experimental groups, respectively. Control group was injected intracortically with saline. Animals were decapitated on day 7 of treatment and brains were removed. The total neuron number of pyramidal cell layer from rat hippocampus was estimated using the optical fractionator method. The volume of same hippocampal areas was estimated using the Cavalieri method. Dose-dependent decrease in hippocampal neuron number was observed in three experimental groups (300, 500 and 1500 IU of penicillin-G), and the effects were statistically significant when compared to the control group (P < 0.009). Dose-dependent decrease in hippocampal volume, on the other hand, was observed in all three of these groups; however, the difference compared to the control group was only statistically significant in 1500 IU of penicillin-G injected group (P < 0.009). At the dose of 2000 IU penicillin-G, all animals died due to status seizures. These results suggest that the appropriate dose of penicillin has to be selected for a given experimental epilepsy study in order to demonstrate the relevant epileptic seizure and its effects. Intracortical 1500 IU penicillin-induced epilepsy model may be a good choice to practice studies that investigate neuroprotective mechanisms of the anti-epileptic drugs. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

A Simple Low-Cost Method for Two Dimensional Microscopic Measuring and Stepping on the Microscopic Plate

In this study, a simple low cost method to be used in morphometric studies on microscopic anatomical structures is described. Increasing need for stereological methods depend on laboratories equipped with specially designed devices to do this type of studies. However, high-technical automated and/or computerized systems increase the cost of these studies there by limiting them to a small number of institutions. Here we suggest a simple two dimensional measurement technique that can be adopted to any laboratory. Key words: microscopy, measurement, stereology, stepping, thoma glass