Endothelin-1 (ET-1) in the central nervous system has been suggested to produce suppressive effects on pain transmission. We investigated the manner by which ET-1 exerts this action. ET-1 administered intracerebroventricularly produced a dose-dependent antinociceptive effect in a thermal pain test that utilized a spinal reflex to determine nociceptive thresholds. This suggested that the antinociceptive effect of ET-1 involved a descending pain inhibitory system. The antinociceptive effect was blocked by an ETA receptor antagonist but not by an ETB receptor antagonist, indicating that the action was mediated through the ETA receptor. Antagonists of opioid receptors, serotonin receptors, alpha-2 adrenergic receptors, oxytocin receptors, and dopamine receptors did not block the antinociceptive effect of ET-1. Thus, major descending inhibitory systems were probably not involved. The antinociceptive effect was blocked by intracerebroventricular administration of an alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonist. This indicated that the antinociceptive effect involved the activation of a supraspinal noradrenergic pathway, which in turn may activate a still unknown descending pain inhibitory system.
A survey has been completed of 300 of an estimated 500–750 survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki who reside in the U.S. Distributions with respect to age, sex, citizenship status, distance from the hypocenter at the time of bombing, and dose from immediate weapon radiation have been tabulated from the results and are presented for this group of 300 survivors. Also presented are survey results concerning exposures to residual radiation from fallout and neutron-induced radioactivity in the areas adjacent to the hypocenter.
The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the rate of internal rotation of title compounds has been examined by the DNMR method. Quartz pressure-resisting NMR cells were used to realize the high-pressure experiments up to 390 (line shape measurements) and 450 MPa (chemical shift measurements). Application of hydrostatic pressure was found to accelerate the rotation of the benzene ring, while pressure-induced low-frequency chemical shifts of bridge methylene protons indicated that there is a considerable shrinkage of the methylene bridge structure upon pressurization.
