HASHISH ANTAGONISM ON THE IN VITRO DEVELOPMENT OF WITHDRAWAL CONTRACTURE

The effects of hashish (HA) on an in vitro model (isolated guinea-pig ileum and rabbit jejunum) of acute dependence have been evaluated. HA reduced the the naloxone-induced contractions in both tissues. High doses of HA inhibited the spontaneous activity of rabbit jejunum; a similar inhibition is observed following administration od opioids. These results show that the antagonism of HA can be revealed also in the isolated gut tissues of naive animals

Modulation of the endocannabinoid system by focal brain ischemia in the rat is involved in neuroprotection afforded by 17 beta-estradiol

Endogenous levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide, and the activities of the synthesizing and hydrolyzing enzymes, i.e. N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine-hydrolyzing phospholipase D and fatty acid amide hydrolase, respectively, were determined in the cortex and the striatum of rats subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Anandamide content was markedly increased (similar to 3-fold over controls; P < 0.01) in the ischemic striatum after 2 h of middle cerebral artery occlusion, but not in the cortex, and this elevation was paralleled by increased activity of N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine-hydrolyzing phospholipase D (similar to 1.7-fold; P < 0.01), and reduced activity (similar to 0.6-fold; P < 0.01) and expression (similar to 0.7-fold; P < 0.05) of fatty acid amide hydrolase. These effects of middle cerebral artery occlusion were further potentiated by 1 h of reperfusion, whereas anandamide binding to type 1 cannabinoid and type 1 vanilloid receptors was not affected significantly by the ischemic insult. Additionally, the cannabinoid type 1 receptor antagonist SR141716, but not the receptor agonist R-(+)-WIN55,212-2, significantly reduced (33%; P < 0.05) cerebral infarct volume detected 22 h after the beginning of reperfusion. A neuroprotective intraperitoneal dose of 17 beta-estradiol (0.20 mg.kg(-1)) that reduced infarct size by 43% also minimized the effect of brain ischemia on the endocannabinoid system, in an estrogen receptor-dependent manner. In conclusion, we show that the endocannabinoid system is implicated in the pathophysiology of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion-induced brain damage, and that neuroprotection afforded by estrogen is coincident with a re-establishment of anandamide levels in the ischemic striatum through a mechanism that needs to be investigated further

Mammographic density : comparison of visual assessment with fully automatic calculation on a multivendor dataset

Objectives: To compare breast density (BD) assessment provided by an automated BD evaluator (ABDE) with that provided by a panel of experienced breast radiologists, on a multivendor dataset. Methods: Twenty-one radiologists assessed 613 screening/diagnostic digital mammograms from nine centers and six different vendors, using the BI-RADS a, b, c, and d density classification. The same mammograms were also evaluated by an ABDE providing the ratio between fibroglandular and total breast area on a continuous scale and, automatically, the BI-RADS score. A panel majority report (PMR) was used as reference standard. Agreement (\u3ba) and accuracy (proportion of cases correctly classified) were calculated for binary (BI-RADS a-b versus c-d) and 4-class classification. Results: While the agreement of individual radiologists with the PMR ranged from \u3ba = 0.483 to \u3ba = 0.885, the ABDE correctly classified 563/613 mammograms (92 %). A substantial agreement for binary classification was found for individual reader pairs (\u3ba = 0.620, standard deviation [SD] = 0.140), individual versus PMR (\u3ba = 0.736, SD = 0.117), and individual versus ABDE (\u3ba = 0.674, SD = 0.095). Agreement between ABDE and PMR was almost perfect (\u3ba = 0.831). Conclusions: The ABDE showed an almost perfect agreement with a 21-radiologist panel in binary BD classification on a multivendor dataset, earning a chance as a reproducible alternative to visual evaluation. Key Points: \u2022 Individual BD assessment differs from PMR with \u3ba as low as 0.483.\u2022 An ABDE correctly classified 92 % of mammograms with almost perfect agreement (\u3ba = 0.831).\u2022 An ABDE can be a valid alternative to subjective BD assessment