SUMMARYThe striatum, pallidum and subthalamic nucleus were studied by combined morphometric methods in serial sections of 13 brains of normal adults and of 15 patients with choreatic diseases . In addition the volume of the hemispheres and of the cortex were measured . All data obtained were corrected by the shrinkage factor to represent fresh brain values .In Huntington's chorea the pallidum was more severely affected than is commonly appreciated . The average volume reduction was of the same degree (lateral 57 %, medial -50 %) as that of the striatum (-56 %) . The absolute number of nerve cells of the pallidum decreased in both segments by about 40 % . The reduction of the volume and of the number of nerve cells of the subthalamic nucleus was found to be about 25 % . The average volume of nerve cells was not reduced in the three subcortical nuclei studied . For the first time it has been shown that there is no increase in the absolute number of glial cells in the striatum . The increased numerical density of glial cells is caused by shrinkage . The loss of nerve cells of the pallidum and subthalamic nucleus is caused mainly by a primary process . Huntington's chorea is a multifocal process .Morphometric data do not suggest that subchorea is a variant of Huntington's chorea .Chorea minor is regarded as a multifocal process with varying affliction of the striatum, pallidum and subthalamic nucleus . An increase in the number of glial cells and, as a rule, a moderate loss of nerve cells were found in this disease .

Mechanistically, we found that impaired cGMP-PKG signaling and elevated PKCα activity are key modulators of titin-based cardiomyocyte stiffening in diabetic hearts. We conclude that by restoring normal kinase activities of PKG, ERK1/2, and PKCα, and by reducing cardiomyocyte passive tension, chronic NRG-1 application is a promising approach to modulate titin properties in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction associated with type-2 diabetes mellitus.

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The distribution of 14C psilocin was studied in 74 regions of the rat brain, using autoradiograms of sagittal serial sections 1, 30 and 60 rain, 2, 4, 8 and 24 hours after intravenous injection.The absolute contents of psilocin in the various brain structures was determined by photometry and was found to range from 15.5 to 1.78 ~g/g brain weight after one minute and from 0.57 to 0.06 ~g/g brain weight after 24 hours.After the longer periods of time the highest values of psiloein were found in the neocortex, the hippocampus, and the thalamus, whilst the values were low in the hypothalamus, the nuclei of the so-called extra-pyramidal motor system and in the reticular formation.The distribution pattern of laC-psilocin was compared with the numerical nerve and glial cell density, the volume cell density, the capillary density, the contents of oxidative enzymes, the uptake of labelled amino acids, the lipid contents, and other patterns known through chemical or histochemical studies, but no meaningful correlation emerged. A very similar distribution pattern was found, however, in studies of neuroleptic and antidepressive drugs.