Selective antagonism of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5HT) and noradrenaline transport by antidepressants is a key element in the 'amine' hypothesis of affective disorders. Uptake and/or transport sites of 5HT have been reported to be reduced in platelets of patients suffering from depression and in post-mortem brain samples of depressed patients and suicide victims. To date there has been little molecular information available on the structure and regulation of 5HT transporters. Using the polymerase chain reaction with degenerate oligonucleotides derived from two highly conserved regions of the transporters for noradrenaline and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), we have identified a large family of related gene products expressed in rodent brain. One of these products hybridizes to a single 3.7-kilobase RNA restricted to rat midbrain and brainstem, where it is highly enriched within the serotonergic raphe complex. Transfection with a single 2.3-kilobase brainstem complementary DNA clone is sufficient to confer expression of a Na(+)-dependent 5HT transporter upon nonneural cells, with transport selectively and potently antagonized by 5HT uptake-specific antidepressants, including paroxetine, citalopram and fluoxetine.

Alterations in glutamatergic transmission are postulated to be important in kindling and epilepsy. The levels of α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methylisoxazole‐4‐propionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunits (GluR1, 2, and 4) were compared in amygdalakindled and sham‐operated animals using subunit‐specific antibodies and quantitative western blotting. Four limbic regions were examined: limbic forebrain, piriform cortex/amygdala, hippocampus, and entorhinal cortex. When subunit levels were examined 24 h after the last stage 5 seizure, levels of GluR2 were found to be selectively reduced in limbic forebrain (30%) and piriform cortex/amygdala (25%), with no changes in other regions examined. In addition, no changes in the other subunits were observed in any region. The decrease in GluR2 that was observed in kindled animals at 24 h was no longer present at 1 week and 1 month after the last stage 5 seizure. Because the GluR2 subunit uniquely determines the calcium permeability of these receptors and because the piriform cortex has been implicated as a source of excitatory drive for limbic seizures, reduced GluR2 expression may be important in increasing neuronal excitability in kindling‐induced epilepsy, or may reflect a compensatory mechanism resulting from kindling.

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We report an atypical tuberculous infection by Mycobacterium Malmoense of the synovium of the flexor tendons at the wrist presenting as carpal tunnel syndrome. This is the first time this organism has been described in a site other than the lungs or the cervical lymph nodes.

SUMMARYRed cell and plasma volumes were measured using "Cr-labelled red cells and l2"I-labelled HSA respectively, in seventeen pregnant rabbits at 28-29 days ofpregnancy, and fifteen non-pregnant rabbits weight-matched with the pregnant rabbits before mating. Red cell volume in the pregnant group (200 + 27 ml. kg-'; mean+ S.D.), was greater than in the control rabbits (180 + 20 ml. kg-1; P < 0 05); plasma volumes (390 + 4-5 and 37-3 + 4-4 ml. kg-' respectively) were not statistically different. Blood volume was derived from the sum of independently measured red cell and plasma volumes. That of the pregnant group (59 0 + 5-3 ml. kg-') was just significantly greater than that of the control rabbits (55 3 + 5 3 ml. kg-'; P < 0-05). When the volume ofdistribution of the labels was corrected, by subtracting fetal weight from maternal body weight, the red cell, plasma and blood volumes were all significantly greater in the pregnant rabbits (P < 0-02). Although the large vessel haematocrit of the pregnant group (41-6 + 4-4%) exceeded that of the non-pregnant group (38 7+2-6%; P < 005), there was no significant difference in whole body haematocrit or Fcells (the ratio of whole body to large vessel haematocrit) between the two groups of rabbits.