BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Modic type 1 degenerative signal changes can mimic/suggest infection, leading to additional costly and sometimes invasive investigations. This retrospective study analyzes the utility and accuracy of a novel, diffusion-weighted "claw sign" for distinguishing symptomatic type 1 degeneration from vertebral diskitis/osteomyelitis.
Naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, has been used in clinical trials to treat alcoholism. As the opioid peptides β-endorphin and enkephalin increase splenic NK cell function in laboratory animals, it is anticipated that naltrexone treatment will cause immunosuppression. However, we report in this study that chronic naltrexone administration in laboratory rats increases the cytolytic activity of NK cells. It also prevents alcohol’s suppressive effect on these cells. We identified that, in the splenocytes, δ opioid receptor expression is tightly controlled by negative feedback regulation of μ opioid receptors. Naltrexone disrupts this feedback control by reducing μ opioid receptor function, thereby up-regulating δ opioid receptor binding, which results in an enhanced NK cell cytolytic response to δ opioid receptor ligands. We conclude that naltrexone, which has been shown to be a promising agent for the clinical management of alcoholism, may have potential use in the treatment of immune deficiency in alcoholic and nonalcoholic patients.
We propose that energy balance, glucose homeostasis, and aging are all regulated largely by the same nutrient-sensing neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH)., Although the central role of these neurons in regulating energy balance is clear, their role in regulating glucose homeostasis has only become more clear recently. It is the latter function that may be most relevant to aging and lifespan, by controlling the rate of glucose metabolism. Specifically, glucose-sensing neurons in VMH promote peripheral glucose metabolism, and dietary restriction, by reducing glucose metabolism in these neurons, reduces glucose metabolism of the rest of the body, thereby increasing lifespan. Here we discuss recent studies demonstrating the key role of hypothalamic neurons in driving aging and age-related diseases.
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