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“Total creatine (Cr) levels are widely used as an internal reference for the quantification of other metabolites in (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). However, Cr plays an important role in brain energy metabolism, and its levels can be modulated by

conditions of energy production and demand. Therefore, abnormal Cr levels in patient vs. control populations could confound the utility of this metabolite as an internal reference. We quantified Cr levels in 22 healthy controls, 15 acutely manic patients with bipolar disorder and 15 acutely ill patients with schizophrenia using (1)H MRS in the anterior cingulate cortex, and the parieto-occipital cortex at 4 Tesla. Patients with schizophrenia had a statistically significant reduction in Cr levels as compared with controls; bipolar disorder patients showed no difference

in Cr as compared with controls. In addition, older age was associated selleck products with reductions in Cr in healthy controls, but not in patients with either disorder. These findings indicate that the use of Cr as an internal reference in schizophrenia MRS research is problematic unless Cr levels are shown to be normal in the study population. They also add to the literature on bioenergetic abnormalities in schizophrenia. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“An emerging ARS-1620 order area of microvascular research focuses on the links between neural and vascular patterning. However, the functional dependence between vascular and neural growth in adult tissues remains underinvestigated. The objective of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal coordination between vascular and neural networks over a time course of adult microvascular growth. Mesentery tissues from adult male Wistar rats were harvested prior to stimulation,

and 2,10 and 30 days after angiogenesis stimulated by mast cell degranulation. Tissues were immunolabeled for PECAM (endothelial cell marker) and class III beta-tubulin (peripheral nerve marker). Neurovascular alignment was quantified per vessel category: arterioles (>20 mu m), pre-capillary arterioles (10-20 mu m), post-capillary venules (10-20 mu m), venules (>20 mu m), capillaries (<10 PLEK2 mu m) and capillary sprouts. Neurovascular alignment along pre-capillary arterioles, capillaries, post-capillary venules and venules was decreased compared to unstimulated levels on days 2 and 10. These decreases inversely correlated with increases in vessel density per vessel category. By day 30, alignment either returned to unstimulated levels or was increased compared to day 10. These results suggest that neurovascular alignment arises after microvascular network growth and is present along arterioles, venules and even capillaries. Copyright (C) 2012 S.