Dejan Jeremic

Neurons of human nucleus accumbens.

BACKGROUND/AIM Nucleus accumbens is a part of the ventral striatum also known as a drug active brain region, especially related with drug addiction. The aim of the study was to investigate the Golgi morphology of the nucleus accumbens neurons. METHODS The study was performed on the frontal and sagittal sections of 15 human brains by the Golgi Kopsch method. We classified neurons in the human nucleus accumbens according to their morphology and size into four types: type I--fusiform neurons; type II--fusiform neurons with lateral dendrite, arising from a part of the cell body; type III--pyramidal-like neuron; type IV--multipolar neuron. The medium spiny neurons, which are mostly noted regarding to the drug addictive conditions of the brain, correspond to the type IV--multipolar neurons. RESULTS Two regions of human nucleus accumbens could be clearly recognized on Nissl and Golgi preparations each containing different predominant neuronal types. Central part of nucleus accumbens, core region, has a low density of impregnated neurons with predominant type III, pyramidal-like neurons, with spines on secondary branches and rare type IV, multipolar neurons. Contrary to the core, peripheral region, shell of nucleus, has a high density of impregnated neurons predominantly contained of type I and type IV--multipolar neurons, which all are rich in spines on secondary and tertiary dendritic branches. CONCLUSION Our results indicate great morphological variability of human nucleus accumbens neurons. This requires further investigations and clarifying clinical significance of this important brain region.

Naloxone Antagonizes Soman-induced Central Respiratory Depression in Rats

The influence of naloxone on respiration impaired by the highly toxic organophosphate nerve agent soman in anaesthetized rats was investigated. Soman, administered in a dose that was ineffective in blocking the electrically induced contractions of the phrenic nerve‐diaphragm preparation in situ, induced a complete block of the spontaneous respiratory movements of the diaphragm, indicating the domination of central over the peripheral effects. Naloxone dose‐dependently antagonized the soman‐induced respiratory blockade. Atropine, at a dose that was per se ineffective in counteracting soman‐induced respiratory depression, potentiated the protective effects of naloxone and completely restored respiration. Naloxone remained completely ineffective in antagonizing respiratory depression induced by the muscarinic receptor agonist the oxotremorine. It is assumed that naloxone antagonizes soman‐induced respiratory inhibition by blocking endogenous opioidergic respiratory control pathways that are independent of the stimulation of muscarinic receptors.

Total Endoprothesis of Hip Joint: Characteristics and Application in Patients in the Central Region of Serbia

Total hip arthroplasty is a surgical procedure in which the hip joint is replaced with an artificial one. Performance of this procedure requires knowledge of the anatomical features of the joint, the characteristics of the endoprosthesis, and the needs and pathological and physiological characteristics of the patient. This retrospective analysis includes the data contained in 874 medical histories of patients of both sexes implanted with a unilateral total hip endoprosthesis who were treated at the Orthopedic Clinic of the Clinical Center, Kragujevac, from January 1st, 2009 to December 1st, 2014. Analysis of the data revealed that 69.3% of the patients were women. The most common type of implanted prosthesis was the cementless one, and the most frequent indication was degenerative joint damage. Total arthroplasty of the hip joint has become one of the most common interventions in orthopedic surgery. The increasing need for this method of treatment required the development of new biomaterials, as well as new types of prosthesis, which, in the future, will decrease the occurrence of adverse reactions and complications during and after implantation of the prosthesis, as well as extending their useful life.

Sneezing - a symptom of respiratory or psychogenic superposition of illness in a teenager?

Introduction. The coincidental combination of allergic respiratory diseases and psychogenic or psychiatric illness is possible but rarely associated in a female teenager. Case report. A girl aged 12.5 years was admitted to the Pediatrics Clinic in the Clinical Centre Kragujevac with the main difficulty of sneezing as 10 sneezes in each of the 500–600 series a day, only in the waking state. Working diagnoses were tic disorders associated with Allergic rhinitis, asthma and biochemically determined rickets. The patient was treated with chlorpromazine, desloratadine, montelukast, fluticasone propionate, vitamin D, azelastine hydrochloride along with the elimination diet. After a year and a half, the patient rarely sneezed, but periods without sneezing were not longer than 3 months, and she ‘cleared her throat’ occasionally. Although her clinical condition is less severe now and without additional motor tics or symptoms of Tourettes disorder, because of its length we suspect the tic turned into a chronic vocal tic disorder. Conclusion. We reported a case of rare association between allergic rhinitis and condition of tic-related conversion in a female teenager and emphasized the necessity of revising the systematisation for the tic disorders and protocol for the allergic rhinitis in terms of their association.

Anatomical Parameters of the Acetabulum in Heavy Vehicle Operators

Abstract It has been suggested that long-term exposure by heavy vehicle operators to whole-body vibration (WBV) may be related to an increased risk of pathological changes in the anatomical parameters of the hip. The aim of this study was to explore the difference in anatomical parameters of acetabulum in drivers of heavy vehicles (experimental group; n=60) and subjects who have not been exposed to WBV (control group; n=60). The anteroposterior radiographic view of the hips was used to measure the following parameters: the vertical centre edge (VCE), the ‘horizontal toit externe’ angle (HTE), the neck shaft angle (NSA) and the acetabular depth (AD). Compared with the control group, the mean VCE angle values and AD were signifi cantly lower, while the average HTE and NSA values were signifi cantly higher in the experimental group. This study supports the hypothesis that exposure to whole-body vibration during operation of a vehicle causes an increased risk of acetabular dysplasia.

Treatment of subacute osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures with Percutaneous vertebroplasty: A case report

Introduction. Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP), as a mini-invasive approach in the treatment of patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs), provides stabilization of the spine and relives pain. The most commonly it is applied in the 3–6 weeks before bending of the spine. Complete cessation of pain is easier to achieve if you treat “less mature” fractures. The aim of the report is to show that PVP is effective and safe for old fractures too. Case report. A 77-old patient suffered from a stable compression fracture of 3th lumbar (L3) vertebral body after minor trauma. This fracture was clinically and radiologically diagnosed. The conservative treatment that included lumbo-sacral orthosis (LSO), analgesic drugs and physical therapy, was primarily applied due to permanent pain and type of fracture. After a period of two months, pain persisted, but it was localized in a thoracic spinal segment with radiologically diagnosed fractured bodies of 8th (Th8) and 10th (Th10), thoracic vertebra without neurological deficit. Thoraco-lumbo-sacral orthosis (TLSO) was prescribed and after six months the indication for vertebroplasty of the Th8 and Th10 vertebral body was given. The pain relief had been achieved and the patient was discharged from the Clinic for Orthopedics on the postoperative day 2, and was symptom free during the follow-up period. Conclusion. In patients with stable OVCFs, PVP is an effective therapy for reducing pain and improving mobility of 6 months old fractures.

Morphology of Human Nucleus Accumbens Neurons Based on the Immunohistochemical Expression of Gad67

Abstract The nucleus accumbens is a part of the ventral striatum along with the caudate nucleus and putamen. The role of the human nucleus accumbens in drug addiction and other psychiatric disorders is of great importance. The aim of this study was to characterize medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens according to the immunohistochemical expression of GAD67. This study was conducted on twenty human brains of both sexes between the ages of 20 and 75. The expression of GAD67 was assessed immunohistochemically, and the characterization of the neurons was based on the shape and size of the soma and the number of impregnated primary dendrites. We showed that neurons of the human nucleus accumbens expressed GAD67 in the neuron soma and in the primary dendrites. An analysis of the cell body morphology revealed the following four different types of neurons: fusiform neurons, fusiform neurons with lateral dendrites, pyramidal neurons and multipolar neurons. An immunohistochemical analysis showed a strong GAD67 expression in GABAergic medium spiny neurons, which could be classifi ed into four different types, and these neurons morphologically correlated with those described by the Golgi study.

Fractal analysis of dendritic arborization patterns of pyramidal neurons in human basolateral amygdala

Background It is well known that there is important role of amygdala in emotional-cognitive processes, i.e. in emotional and associative learning, fear acquisition and emotional memory [1]. We investigated dendritic branching patterns of pyramidal neurons which are believed to be excitatory. According to our earlier findings pyramidal neurons in human basolateral amygdala have two subtypes pyramidal slender and pyramidal squat neurons [2]. Fractal analysis, which comes from Mandelbrots fractal geometry [3], is used as a tool for differentiation of the complexity of neuronal dendritic branching patterns. The measure of dendritic branching represents the fractal dimension of the neuron. In performing this study, we have applied the fractal analysis to the images of neurons, in order to investigate its capability to distinguish between subtypes.