0000000000014641
AUTHOR
Birgit Hermes
Strain differences in the ratio of synaptic body types in photoreceptors of the rat retina.
In the retinal outer plexiform layer of seven different rat strains, synaptic bodies (SB) were counted and, according to their morphology, characterized as synaptic ribbons (SR), synaptic spheres (SS) or intermediate structures. It was found that absolute SB numbers showed relatively small variations while SR/SS ratios differed considerably between the strains investigated. These results are discussed with respect to retinal pigmentation and to formation and degradation, respectively, of synaptic ribbons.
Day- and night-time contents of monoamines and their metabolites in the medial preoptic area of the rat hypothalamus.
The present study was conducted to investigate whether monoamines and their metabolites in the medial preoptic area (mPOA) of the rat hypothalamus exhibit differences in their contents between day and night. We therefore sampled the mPOA from adult animals of either sex at the middle of the light or dark period, respectively, and analyzed the tissue by means of high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. We found that, in female animals at mid-night, dopamine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid (DOPAC) was reduced to 43 and 30%, respectively, of daytime levels, while the norepinephrine content was doubled. No significant differences were observed in male animals. …
Automated Determination of Trimipramine and N-Desmethyl-Trimipramine in Human Plasma or Serum by HPLC With On-Line Solid Phase Extraction
A fully automated method including column-switching and isocratic high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed for determination of the tricyclic antidepressant trimipramine (T) and its N-demethylated metabolite N-desmethyltrimipramine (DT). The limit of quantification was below 10 ng/ml for T and DT. The assay revealed linearity between detector response and drug concentration in a therapeutically relevant range of 10 to 500 ng/ml. The mean intra- and interassay variabilities were 6.2 and 12.3%, respectively, for T and 4.7 and 8.7% respectively, for DT. The method can be applied to therapeutic drug monitoring of patients under T therapy and may be useful for pharmacokinetic …
Synaptic ribbons, spheres and intermediate structures in the developing rat retina
The present study was conducted to investigate the qualitative and quantitative development of synaptic bodies in retinae of Wistar rats during postnatal days 4-28. In addition, the effects of different light regimens and of eye pigmentation on SB numbers were studied. Synaptic bodies were counted and measured in the outer plexiform layer of retinal tissue fixed and processed by routine electron microscopical techniques. At postnatal days 4 and 5, retinae showed only few synaptic bodies. The main numerical development of synaptic bodies occurred between postnatal days 4 and 9, numbers remaining more or less constant thereafter. The intracellular location of synaptic ribbons changed from pre…