(C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Nucleus accumbens (NAcc) are a collection of neurons that form the main part of the ventral striatum, which is a significant dopaminergic structure. Also, NAcc is thought to play an important

role in reward, pleasure, laughter, addiction, aggression, fear, and the placebo effect. In the present work we were interested in studying the effects of a 6-OHDA induced lesion in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), which is known as an important dopaminergic structure, on a specific behavioral task that involves both short term and long term spatial memory (the radial-8-arm-maze task), as well as on the oxidative stress markers (two antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase-SOD and glutathione peroxidase-GPX and a lipid peroxidation marker: selleck products malondialdehyde-MDA, Selleck ATM Kinase Inhibitor as well as the total antioxidant status-TAS) from the temporal lobe, which is considered to be the most vulnerable cortical

area to oxygen levels fluctuations and hypoxia. Our results showed some significant effects of this lesion on the reference memory errors and time necessary to finish the test in the radial-8-arm-maze task. Additionally, increased oxidative stress status was demonstrated in the temporal lobe of the lesioned rats, as demonstrated by the high levels of lipid peroxidation and decreased total antioxidant status. Moreover, significant BTSA1 correlations are reported here between the behavioral parameters which we studied in the radial-8-arm-maze task and the aforementioned

oxidative stress markers. (C) Versita Sp. z o.o.”
“Various endoscopic techniques are being increasingly used in early gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. The holmium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Ho:YAG) laser has precise tissue cutting ability and good hemostatic properties and has been widely applicated to soft tissue, but the use of endoscopic Ho:YAG laser ablation for early gastrointestinal cancer has not been reported. Twenty patients with biopsy-proven early GI cancer who had a high surgical risk or refused surgery were treated by endoscopic Ho:YAG laser ablation. The tumors of all patients were confined to the mucosal layer without ulceration and without lymph node metastasis. The tumor diameter was not more than 2.5 cm. Endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, and computed tomography scan were performed 1-3 months after the treatment, and a biopsy was performed to evaluate the effects of the therapy. Long-term endoscopic follow-up was maintained.