University of Cagliari

About: University of Cagliari is a education organization based out in Cagliari, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Dopamine. The organization has 11029 authors who have published 29046 publications receiving 771023 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli Studi di Cagliari & Universita degli Studi di Cagliari.

Role of brain allopregnanolone in the plasticity of gamma -aminobutyric acid type a receptor in rat brain during pregnancy and after delivery

Abstract: The relation between changes in brain and plasma concentrations of neurosteroids and the function and structure of γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors in the brain during pregnancy and after delivery was investigated in rats. In contrast with plasma, where all steroids increased in parallel, the kinetics of changes in the cerebrocortical concentrations of progesterone, allopregnanolone (AP), and allotetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone (THDOC) diverged during pregnancy. Progesterone was already maximally increased between days 10 and 15, whereas AP and allotetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone peaked around day 19. The stimulatory effect of muscimol on 36Cl− uptake by cerebrocortical membrane vesicles was decreased on days 15 and 19 of pregnancy and increased 2 days after delivery. Moreover, the expression in cerebral cortex and hippocampus of the mRNA encoding for γ2L GABAA receptor subunit decreased during pregnancy and had returned to control values 2 days after delivery. Also α1,α2, α3, α4, β1, β2, β3, and γ2S mRNAs were measured and failed to change during pregnancy. Subchronic administration of finasteride, a 5α-reductase inhibitor, to pregnant rats reduced the concentrations of AP more in brain than in plasma as well as prevented the decreases in both the stimulatory effect of muscimol on 36Cl− uptake and the decrease of γ2L mRNA observed during pregnancy. These results indicate that the plasticity of GABAA receptors during pregnancy and after delivery is functionally related to fluctuations in endogenous brain concentrations of AP whose rate of synthesis/metabolism appears to differ in the brain, compared with plasma, in pregnant rats.

Nonlinear elasticity of monolayer graphene

Abstract: By combining continuum elasticity theory and tight-binding atomistic simulations, we work out the constitutive nonlinear stress-strain relation for graphene stretching elasticity and we calculate all the corresponding nonlinear elastic moduli. Present results represent a robust picture on elastic behavior and provide the proper interpretation of recent experiments. In particular, we discuss the physical meaning of the effective nonlinear elastic modulus there introduced and we predict its value in good agreement with available data. Finally, a hyperelastic softening behavior is observed and discussed, so determining the failure properties of graphene.

Blockade of the noradrenaline carrier increases extracellular dopamine concentrations in the prefrontal cortex: evidence that dopamine is taken up in vivo by noradrenergic terminals.

Abstract: The effect of systemic administration of desmethylimipramine (DMI) and oxaproptiline (OXA), two inhibitors of the noradrenaline (NA) reuptake carrier, on the in vivo extracellular concentrations of dopamine (DA) was studied by transcerebral dialysis in the prefrontal cortex and in the dorsal caudate of freely moving rats. In the NA-rich prefrontal cortex, either drug increased extracellular DA concentrations whereas in the dorsal caudate neither was effective. Haloperidol increased extracellular DA concentrations more effectively in the dorsal caudate than in the prefrontal cortex. Pre-treatment with DMI or OXA. which failed to modify the effect of haloperidol in the dorsal caudate, potentiated its action in the prefrontal cortex. 6-Hydroxydopamine lesioning of the dorsal NA bundle prevented the ability of OXA to increase DA concentrations. The results suggest that reuptake into NA terminals is an important mechanism by which DA is cleared from the extracellular space in a NA-rich area such as the prefrontal cortex. The elevated extracellular concentrations of DA resulting from blockade of such mechanism by tricyclic antidepressants may play a role in the therapeutic effects of these drugs.

Assessment of Response to Lithium Maintenance Treatment in Bipolar Disorder: A Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen) Report

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The assessment of response to lithium maintenance treatment in bipolar disorder (BD) is complicated by variable length of treatment, unpredictable clinical course, and often inconsistent compliance. Prospective and retrospective methods of assessment of lithium response have been proposed in the literature. In this study we report the key phenotypic measures of the "Retrospective Criteria of Long-Term Treatment Response in Research Subjects with Bipolar Disorder" scale currently used in the Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen) study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine ConLiGen sites took part in a two-stage case-vignette rating procedure to examine inter-rater agreement [Kappa (κ)] and reliability [intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC)] of lithium response. Annotated first-round vignettes and rating guidelines were circulated to expert research clinicians for training purposes between the two stages. Further, we analyzed the distributional properties of the treatment response scores available for 1,308 patients using mixture modeling. RESULTS: Substantial and moderate agreement was shown across sites in the first and second sets of vignettes (κ = 0.66 and κ = 0.54, respectively), without significant improvement from training. However, definition of response using the A score as a quantitative trait and selecting cases with B criteria of 4 or less showed an improvement between the two stages (ICC1 = 0.71 and ICC2 = 0.75, respectively). Mixture modeling of score distribution indicated three subpopulations (full responders, partial responders, non responders). CONCLUSIONS: We identified two definitions of lithium response, one dichotomous and the other continuous, with moderate to substantial inter-rater agreement and reliability. Accurate phenotypic measurement of lithium response is crucial for the ongoing ConLiGen pharmacogenomic study.