Progress in clinical and biological research
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From the work reviewed here, it appears that the classical view that there is a sensory channel for pain sensation rather like sensory channels for other sensations seems plausible. However, pain has the property of producing more prominent motivational-affective behaviors than do other sensations (although there are certainly motivational-affective components of the responses to many sensory experiences, such as a verbal attack or the odor of a favorite perfume). It may be that certain nociceptive neurons, such as the STT cells that project to the medial thalamus that have total body receptive fields and many similar spinoreticular neurons, are concerned not so much with sensory events but rather with motivational-affective responses. ⋯ One possibility is that the weaker tactile input is treated as noise and largely ignored by higher processing centers in the brain. Another possibility is that WDR cells are switched in function by the action of descending pathways originating in the brain stem or cerebral cortex (cf., Gerhart et al., 1984; Yezierski et al., 1983). In any event, the solution of this problem is likely to be very important for the full understanding of the coding properties of nociceptive neurons, and this issue is reminiscent of the coding problem discussed by David Smith in this volume with respect to the gustatory system.
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In 19 unselected subsequently entered non-metastatic patients with a normal osteogenic sarcoma two different just tolerable chemotherapy combinations were applied pre- and postoperatively. The median follow-up time after discontinuation of chemotherapy is 26+ months. ⋯ So the disease free survival rate is 53%. Longer follow-up in this group and the European Osteosarcoma Intergroup Study will be needed to clarify the value of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in this disease.
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Prog. Clin. Biol. Res. · Jan 1985
The Antiepileptic Drug Development Program: an example of government-industry collaboration.
By collaborating with the pharmaceutical industry in key areas of drug development, the ADD Program of the Epilepsy Branch, National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, has responded to the need for more effective and less toxic antiepileptic drugs than those currently available. The program screens large numbers of compounds for anticonvulsant activity, conducts toxicology studies, and sponsors clinical trials of promising new drugs for the treatment of epilepsy. This collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry is providing a valuable model for a shared drug development program.