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Biomedical subjects

H Kalant

Publications and source records attributed to H Kalant.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Effect of p-chlorophenylalanine on the acquisition of tolerance to barbital.

The effect of p-chlorophenylalanine (p-CPA) pretreatment on barbital tolerance in the rat as measured by motor impairment on the moving belt test was examined in two separate studies. The first used a 2 X 2 design with doses of p-CPA (125 mg/kg) or water, and sodium barbital (300 mg/kg) or water. The treatments continued for 28 days with tests every 7 days. The p-CPA dose used was previously shown to produce and maintain greater than 95% depletion of brain serotonin (5-HT). Tolerance developed to the test doses, and even greater tolerance to the chronic treatment doses. In both cases the p-CPA slowed the development of tolerance without altering the acute response to the challenge dose of barbital. The second study involved only a p-CPA-barbital group and a water-barbital group. In this case treatment lasted for up to 8 days, with separate subgroups being tested only once each at 2-day intervals, in order to prevent the tests from affecting the rate of tolerance development. This experiment confirmed that p-CPA slowed the development of barbital tolerance. The present findings provide additional support for the possibility that 5-HT may be involved in the development of tolerance to sedatives (e.g., alcohol, pentobarbital).

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Effect of ethanol on potassium-stimulated and electrically stimulated acetylcholine release in vitro from rat cortical slices.

The effects of ethanol (EtOH) on potassium and electrically stimulated acetylcholine (ACh) release were compared in rat cerebral cortical slices in vitro. ACh was measured by pyrolysis - gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). Paired samples were incubated with and without 0.11 M EtOH. In the potassium stimulation experiments, cortical slices were serially incubated for three 45-min periods in normal incubation medium followed by two periods in medium containing either 15 or 27 mM K+. In the electrical stimulation experiments, the cortical slices were similarly incubated for three 30-min periods without stimulation followed by two periods of electrical (10 HZ) stimulation. ACh output rose 20% at 15 mM K+ and 160% at 27 mM K+. Ethanol had no effect on spontaneous ACh release and did not influence the ACh response to high K+ stimulation. Electrical stimulation approximately doubled the ACh output but EtOH reduced electrically stimulated ACh relese by 50--80%. These findings are compatible with the view that EtOH acts primarily on Na+ influx during the action potential.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1980

Effect of p-chlorophenylalanine on the acquisition of tolerance to the hypnotic effects of pentobarbital, barbital, and ethanol.

Rats were given pentobarbital by daily intubation. Sleeping times and blood levels of drug at awakening, after intraperitoneal test doses of ethanol, pentobarbital, or barbital, were measured at various times during chronic treatment in order to assess the degree of tolerance developed. No central nervous system (CNS) tolerance to pentobarbital or cross-tolerance to barbital or ethanol occurred on treatment with sodium pentobarbital, 50 mg/kg, daily. However, when the size and frequency of pentobarbital treatment doses were increased (50-80 mg/kg, three times daily) a clear CNS tolerance to barbital occurred. Chronic administration of p-chlorophenylalanine (p-CPA), in a dose previously shown to maintain more than 95% depletion of brain serotonin (5-HT), enhanced the acute hypnotic effect of barbiturates and ethanol. Independently of this effect, p-CPA treatment also resulted in a reduction in the development of CNS tolerance. These results are consistent with earlier findings that brain 5-HT depletion retards tolerance development to central depressant drugs as measured by a variety of unrelated tests.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Alpha adrenoreceptor mediated alteration of ethanol effects on (Na+ + K+)-ATPase of rat neuronal membranes.

Noradrenaline (NA) sensitizes rat brain (Na+ + K+)-ATPase to inhibition by ethanol (EtOH). This effect of NA increases with the degree of enrichment of the enzyme: 0.1 mM NA + 0.05 M EtOH produced 27% inhibition in whole brain homogenates, 40% in 2.5-fold purified P2 fractions, and 45% in 5-fold purified microsomal fractions. The sensitization by NA was prevented by 0.1 microM phentolamine but not by 100 microM propranolol. Adrenaline and phenylephrine also sensitized the enzyme to EtOH inhibition in all of the fractions but isoproterenol did not. For all three alpha agonists the degree of sensitization was concentration dependent and the degree of reversal of this effect varied with the concentration of phentolamine added. These findings suggest that the NA + EtOH interaction is a direct effect on the membrane, probably mediated by an alpha receptor modified perturbation of the membrane microenvironment of the enzyme.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Cross-tolerance between ethanol and morphine with respect to their hypothermic effects.

Daily administration of ethanol (10-12 g/kg) to rats in a liquid diet resulted in tolerance to the hypothermic effects of ethanol. The rats also developed cross-tolerance to the hypothermic effect of morphine (15 and 30 mg/kg), whereas no cross-tolerance to the hyperthermic effect of morphine (5 mg/kg) was seen. Administration of morphine (30 mg/kg i.p.) for 3 days resulted in tolerance to morphine hypothermia and also cross-tolerance to ethanol-induced hypothermia. These studies fit with our hypothesis that tolerance and cross-tolerance among drugs develop to drug effects rather than to the drug per se. Therefore drugs sharing a common effect, even by different mechanisms, might show cross-tolerance for that effect.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Effect of L-tryptophan on the acquisition of tolerance to ethanol-induced motor impairment and hypothermia.

Rats were rendered tolerant to ethanol by daily gavage of 4--5 g/kg. The degree of motor impairment on the moving belt test and of hypothermia after i.p. test doses of ethanol was measured prior to and at various times during the chronic treatment, to assess the rates of tolerance development. L-Tryptophan (75 mg/kg twice daily) was administered chronically to elevate brain serotonin level. This treatment did not alter the motor impairment or hypothermia produced by the initial test doses of ethanol (2.0 and 2.5 g/kg respectively). However, the development of tolerance to both the motor impairment and hypothermia effects of ethanol was accelerated in the tryptophan-treated rats. This finding complements our earlier observations that depletion of 5-HT with p-CPA slows down tolerance. Blood ethanol measurements at 20 min (motor impairment) or 90 min (hypothermia) after the administration of the test dose reveal no significant difference between the control and tryptophan-treated rats, suggesting that tryptophan did not influence the metabolism of ethanol. This finding supports the hypothesis that brain serotonin modulates the development of tolerance to ethanol.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Increased weight gain as a morphine withdrawal response in rats.

Adult male Wistar rats injected daily with 20 or 200 mg/kg morphine-SO4 for 35 days suffered a dose-dependent weight loss over the first 3 days of morphine withdrawal. However, during the next 28 days they gained weight more rapidly than controls, the rates being related to the previous morphine dosage. These findings were replicated in Sprague-Dawley rats treated for 26 days with 60 mg/kg morphine. Food-restricted controls suffering weight losses equal to those of the morphine-treated or morphine-withdrawn groups did not subsequently gain weight as rapidly as the latter groups. Therefore the rapid post-withdrawal weight gain may be a true adaptive response to the weight suppressing effects of morphine. Also, comparisons of weight changes during treatment in the two experiments indicated possible strain differences for tolerance to morphine's direct weight-reducing effect.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Effect of desglycinamide(9)-lysine(8)-vasopressin and prolyl-leucyl-glycinamide on oral ethanol intake in the rat.

Rats given ethanol in their drinking water at a concentration that permitted adequate fluid intake gradually accepted higher concentrations and consumed larger amounts of ethanol. These increases were augmented when daily subcutaneous injections of 1 microgram of desglycinamide9-lysine8-vasopressin (DGLVP) or 10 microgram of prolyl-leucyl-glycinamide (PLG) were given concomitantly. Nonsignificant changes in ethanol consumption were seen with injections of 1 microgram PLG, or 0.42 or 42 microgram of lysine8-vasopressin (LVP). In a second experiment 4 microgram DGLVP given every second day as a long-acting zinc phosphate complex, commencing after the increases in ethanol intake had taken place, failed to produce any change in ethanol consumption subsequently. In both Experiments 1 and 2, the rats were switched from forced ethanol intake to a choice between ethanol and tap water. On these tests there was only marginal evidence of peptide-produced changes in ethanol intake.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1979

Effect of modification of brain serotonin (5-HT) on ethanol tolerance.

The effects of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine and L-tryptophan treatment on ethanol tolerance in the rat, as measured by the moving-belt test of motor impairment and by hypothermia, were examined in separate studies. A 2 x 2 design was used for all experiments. 5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine (200 microgram in 20 microliter CSF) or vehicle alone was administered once into both lateral ventricles of the rat. Desmethylimipramine was administered intraperitoneally prior to an intraventricular injection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine to prevent the destruction of norepinephrine. L-Tryptophan (75 mg/kg p.o. twice daily) or water was administered chronically. Ethanol (4--5 g/kg p.o.) or sucrose was given daily, and the development of tolerance was monitored at 5--7-day intervals. Chronic ethanol treatment produced tolerance to both the motor impairment and hypothermia effects of ethanol. 5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine and L-tryptophan treatment did not alter either the motor impairment or hypothermia produced by the initial dose of ethanol. 5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine produced a 75% depletion of brain 5-HT and slowed the development of tolerance to ethanol in both measurements. In contrast, elevation of 5-HT by L-tryptophan (39% increase by a single dose) facilitated the development of tolerance to ethanol, as seen in both measures. These findings support our hypothesis that brain 5-HT has a modulating role in the development of tolerance to ethanol.

5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine↗
PubMed1979

Serum triiodothyronine and other clinical and laboratory indices of alcoholic liver disease.

Admission serum triiodothyronine (T3) values in 124 patients hospitalized for alcoholic liver disease were correlated with clinical and laboratory indices of liver function and commonly used determinants of thyroid function. Patients with low admission serum T3 levels had significant alterations in serum albumin, bilirubin, prothrombin time, and alkaline phosphatase associated with clinical signs of portal hypertension and collateral circulation, with little difference in serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, serum gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, or serum ornithine carbamyl transferase. This group also had a significant decrease in free T3 index despite an increase in T3 uptake; the slight reduction in total thyroxine (T4) was associated with an increase in free T4 index and no change in serum thyrotropin (TSH). For patients with alcoholic liver disease, low admission serum T3 and free T3 index values when accompanied by normal serum T4, free T4 index, and TSH levels appear to be indicative of severe liver dysfunction and increased mortality risk.

Humans↗
PubMed1979

Effect of short-term therapy with propylthiouracil in patients with alcoholic liver disease.

The effect of propylthiouracil (PTU; 300 mg/day) on alcoholic liver disease was evaluated in 133 patients in a short-term randomized double-blind trial. Severity of the disease was assessed by a composite clinical and laboratory index (CCLI). A normalization rate (NR) representing the rate of improvement in CCLI was calculated. Patients with alcoholic hepatitis, with and without cirrhosis, showed a significantly higher NR on PTU (43.6 +/- 4.6) than on placebo (19.8 +/- 3.3; P less than 0.001). A similar effect was observed in patients with abnormal prothrombin (no biopsy): NR was 32.9 +/- 6.9 on PTU and 2.6 +/- 3.7 on placebo (P less than 0.005). The effect of PTU on each clinical and laboratory component of the CCLI was also compared in these two groups. In 38 patients with alcoholic hepatitis and in 25 with abnormal prothrombin, those on PTU showed a greater improvement in 15 of 15 items (P less than 0.001) and 14 of 15 (P less than 0.01), respectively. When patients were divided according to the severity of the disease into those in the lower and upper halves of the CCLI range (81 and 52 patients, respectively), PTU was shown to have a significant effect only in the latter: The NR was 41.4 +/- 3.8 on PTU and 22.5 +/- 4.2 on placebo (P less than 0.005). PTU was ineffective in patients with inactive cirrhosis.

Double-Blind Method↗
PubMed1979

Thyroid hormones in alcoholic liver disease. Effect of treatment with 6-n-propylthiouracil.

The relationship between alcoholic liver disease and circulating thyroid hormones was investigated in 124 hospitalized patients treated with placebo or propylthiouracil (PTU) for a maximum of 46 days in a double-blind study. Serum triiodothyronine (T3) levels on admission were significantly (P less than 10(-6) and inversely correlated with the severity of alcoholic liver disease. After hospitalization, changes in T3-levels in patients with low admission T3 significantly correlated (P less than 0.001) with the degree of spontaneous improvement of liver function (placebo group). Treatment with 300 mg of PTU daily (Orrego et al. Gastroenterology 76:105--115, 1979) markedly increased the rate of improvement in severely ill patients with low T3 on admission. In this group, serum T3-levels were also increased after PTU, but this increase did not correlate with the change in the patient's condition. It is suggested that the known inhibitory effect of PTU on peripheral deiodination of T4 to T3 is marked by a more marked improvement in liver function in this group. PTU treatment in this group reduced the free T4-index and increased TSH levels markedly (16%; P less than 0.02) toward levels found in hypothyroidism. PTU did not improve the condition of mildly ill patients with normal admission T3-levels, nor did it alter free T4-index or serum TSH levels in these patients. Serum T3-levels provide a sensitive indicator of the severity of alcoholic liver disease and of its response to conventional treatment. Serum T3-levels also distinguish between a group of patients, in whom low-dose PTU administration results in a beneficial effect, and another group, in whom no therapeutic effect of PTU is observed.

Humans↗