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Biomedical subjects

K E Cooper

Publications and source records attributed to K E Cooper.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Changes in the hypothalamic mechanisms involved in the control of body temperature induced by the early thermal environment.

The experiments reported in this study were designed to investigate the influence of the early thermal environment on the functional properties of certain putative thermoregulatory neurotransmitters within the hypothalamus of the Sprague-Dawley rat. The effects on body temperature of serotonin, dopamine, carbachol, PGE2 and endotoxin when microinjected into the anterior hypothalamic/preoptic region of the brain have been examined in warm-reared, control and warm-acclimated animals. Serotonin and PGE2 are shown to have different effects on body temperature in warm-reared as compared to warm-acclimated and control animals. The thermoregulatory effects of intrahypothalamic dopamine are shown to be changed by the normal acclimation process, while carbachol and endotoxin have similar effects on the body temperature of all 3 groups of animals. These data suggest that the thermal environment may significantly affect the roles which specific neurotransmitters play in the control of body temperature.

Acclimatization↗
PubMed1984

Vasopressin: its role in antipyresis and febrile convulsion.

When pyrogenic substances are injected intravenously into experimental animals, a sequence of events is set in motion which involves the hypothalamus and perhaps other portions of the diencephalon to produce a febrile response. We now present evidence that the brain produces its own endogenous antipyretic which may serve as a means of controlling the extent of the fever. When arginine vasopressin is perfused through the lateral septal area of the hypothalamus of the sheep, fever is suppressed. Vasopressin alone does not lower normal body temperature when perfused through this region of the brain. In addition, evidence is provided to indicate that vasopressin is released within the lateral septal area during the febrile response. It is concluded that, in fever, arginine vasopressin may be released in the lateral septal area of the brain and serve as an endogenous antipyretic. Results indicate that, following an initial application of vasopressin into the brain itself, a subsequent similar administration of vasopressin produces seizure-like activity. Therefore, it is suggested that this release of arginine vasopressin may contribute to the production of febrile convulsion.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Peptide neurohormones: their role in thermoregulation and fever.

The neural elements of the rostral diencephalon in the mammal have been implicated in the regulation of body temperature. Moreover, it may be the neural elements within this region of the brain which activate the febrile mechanisms in response to pyrogen. Is it possible that the neuropeptides located within this area of the brain serve as neurochemical intermediaries involved in temperature regulation, fever, and (or) antipyresis? Central administration of several neuropeptides can elicit marked changes in the core temperature of an animal. Although most of these purative neuroregulators exert only a very minor influence on thermoregulation, a small number of the neuropeptides have been shown to have a profound effect on the system controlling this basic vegetative function. One of these peptides, arginine vasopressin (AVP) may play a role as an endogenous antipyretic. The neuroanatomical localization of this peptide, as well as its axonal projections, are consistent with such a role for this neurohypophyseal peptide in the mediation of antipyresis. In addition, current evidence suggests that AVP does function as a neurotransmitter. Examination of the febrile response to pyrogen in both the periparturient animal and the neonate indicates that an elevation in plasma levels of AVP is closely correlated with the diminution in the febrile response. Also, when AVP is perfused into punctate regions of the brain, a pyrogen-induced fever may be markedly suppressed AVP appears to act primarily within the septal area, 2- to 3-mm rostral to the anterior commissure. During the development of fever, the release of AVP is altered within these same loci. As body temperature decreases during the febrile state, there is a concomitant increase in the amount of AVP released into the extracellular fluid of these septal sites. Very recent findings suggest that AVP may have additional central neurochemical functions. For example, this peptide may be involved in the etiology of some forms of convulsive disorders. The precise manner in which body temperature is regulated by the central nervous system normally and during fever is not well understood.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1983

An investigation of the age-related deficits in the febrile response of the rabbit.

The febrile response of the New Zealand White rabbit in animals less than 1 yr old was compared with that in 3-yr-old animals. A reduced febrile response to both endotoxin and live bacteria injected intravenously was observed in the older group of animals. Peripheral vasoconstriction was observed, suggesting the drive to increase body temperature remained. Plasma catecholamines increased significantly in both groups of animals during fever. However, significantly greater increases in plasma epinephrine were observed in the older animals. A significant deficit in catecholamine-induced thermogenesis was observed in the older group of rabbits. This deficit alone does not explain the reduced febrile response, as beta-adrenergic blockade does not suppress the febrile response of young animals. Thus it is suggested that the primary deficit resulting in a reduced febrile response in the 3-yr-old rabbits is due to other age-related changes in the thermoregulatory system.

Aging↗
PubMed1982

Vasopressin: a homeostatic effector in the febrile process.

This review compares the physiological changes which accompany infection and fever with the effects of the peptide, arginine vasopressin (AVP). AVP may act as a neuromodulator, a releasing factor, or a hormone to induce responses which are opposite to those homeostatic changes accompanying fever. Since AVP is released into blood and brain during fever, it is hypothesized that AVP contributes to the maintenance of homeostasis in the infected organism.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Absence of endotoxin fever but not prostaglandin E2 fever in the Brattleboro rat.

Changes in colonic temperature following intracerebroventricular injection (icv) of bacterial endotoxin or prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were measured in Long-Evans (LE) and Brattleboro (DI) rats. Indwelling cannulas were implanted into the brains of rats for subsequent microinjection into a lateral cerebral ventricle. Microinjection of 1 microgram of bacterial endotoxin into a lateral cerebral ventricle produced a fever in the LE rat but not in the DI rat. Daily injections of 1 microgram of endotoxin icv in the DI rat did not result in a fever. Intraperitoneal injections of 50 micrograms of bacterial endotoxin resulted in a fever in the LE rat, but the DI rat showed no such response. Both groups of animals did produce a fever in response to icv administration of 200 ng of PGE2. The lack of arginine vasopressin in the DI rat may be related to the animal's failure to show a febrile response to endotoxin.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Vasopressin may mediate febrile convulsions.

The possibility that arginine vasopressin (AVP) is involved in the etiology of febrile convulsions was investigated by experiments on hyperthermia-induced convulsions in rats. Homozygous Brattleboro rats, which genetically lack AVP, and Long Evans rats, which were passively immunized by intracerebroventricular anti-AVP antiserum, either convulsed at higher body temperatures than untreated Long Evans rats or did not convulse at all. This indicates that a lack of AVP increases the threshold for the convulsions. High blood levels of AVP in hyperthermic convulsing rats compared to hyperthermic non-convulsive rats support the hypothesis that AVP may mediate febrile convulsions.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Arginine vasotocin, an endogenous neuropeptide of Aplysia, suppresses the gill withdrawal reflex and reduces the evoked synaptic input to central gill motor neurons.

The superfusion (15 min) of arginine vasotocin (AVT; 10(-9)--10(-12) M) over the abdominal ganglion of Aplysia californica suppressed the amplitude of the gill withdrawal reflex evoked by tactile stimulation of the siphon, increased the rate of gill reflex habituation, and decreased the evoked synaptic activity to central gill motor neurons. The suppressive effects of AVT on gill reflex behaviors were not due to toxic effects of the hormone since the effects were completely reversible following washout and 3 h rest. The results obtained with AVT were similar to those previously found using the mammalian neuropeptide arginine vasopressin. AVT may act by increasing the activity of central neurons which exert suppressive control over both gill reflex behaviors and evoked activity to central gill motor neurons.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Factors which affect shivering in man during cold water immersion.

Six subjects were immersed in cold water (15.15 +/- 0.42 degrees C) and were asked to perform two tasks. Shivering elicited by the cold water immersion was attenuated and/or abolished by the mental arithmetic task and in some instances by a voluntary isometric contraction of forearm muscles. Some reasons for these results are discussed. Key words: Cold water immersion, mental arithmetic forearm isometric contraction, attenuation of shivering.

Cold Temperature↗
PubMed1981

Effects of antipyresis on bacterial numbers in infected rabbits.

A previous investigation demonstrated that infusion of an antipyretic drug into the preoptic anterior hypothalamus (PO/AH) of rabbits reduced the fever usually seen during the initial stages of infection. This was followed by an increased fever and an increased mortality rate [32]. The work reported here investigated the hypothesis that the increased mortality was the result of decreased killing and/or increased multiplication of bacteria during the initial, attenuated phase of the febrile course in the antipyretic-treated rabbits. Rabbits were injected intravenously with Pasteurella multocida and either sodium salicylate or a control solution was infused directly into the PO/AH. Infusion of sodium salicylate reduced the mean fever 4 hours after injection of bacteria from 2.07 +/- 0.28 degrees C (S.E.M.) to 0.62 +/- 0.43 degrees C. Rabbits with reduced fevers had decreased blood leucocyte counts and greater numbers of bacteria in lung and liver samples. No differences were seen in reticuloendothelial clearance of carbon, hematocrit, or intracellular viability of bacteria when antipyretics were administered. This increase in bacterial numbers corresponds well to the increased mortality found in previous studies in animals with reduced fevers.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Evidence of environmental influence on the development of thermoregulation in the rat.

Sprague-Dawley rats were raised in an environmentally controlled room at 33 degrees C. Thermoregulatory responses of animals reared in this way were compared with those of control and warm-acclimated rats. Warm-reared animals demonstrated a significantly greater fall in colonic temperature during cold exposure when compared with both warm-acclimated (p less than 0.01) and control (p less than 0.001) animals. Warm-reared animals also show a modified response to central infusion of noradrenaline; they produce a hyperthermia in contrast with the hypothermia observed in control and warm-acclimated rats. These results suggest that the early thermal environment may modify the development of temperature regulation in the Sprague-Dawley rat in a way different from the normal acclimation process.

Acclimatization↗
PubMed1981

Effect of hemorrhage on fever: the putative role of vasopressin.

The effects of hemorrhage on the febrile response of the sheep was examined because hemorrhage is a potent stimulant for arginine vasopressin (AVP) release into cerebrospinal fluid and blood. Removal of 20% of the estimated blood volume of the conscious sheep led to small physiologic changes and significantly decreased fevers in response to bacterial endotoxin. Mean arterial blood pressure decreased in hemorrhaged febrile sheep to a significantly greater extent than in nonhemorrhaged febrile sheep. AVP levels were considerably greater in the blood of hemorrhaged febrile sheep than in nonhemorrhaged febrile sheep and the concentrations correlated with the magnitude of the decrease in fever. Sheep hemorrhaged in the cold had changes in body temperature similar to control sheep. These experiments support the hypothesis that AVP may be an antipyretic neuromodulator.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Age-related differences in the febrile response of the New Zealand White rabbit to endotoxin.

The effect of age on the febrile response of New Zealand White rabbits was investigated by administering bacterial endotoxin intravenously to animals from two different age groups. Rabbits greater than 2.0 years of age developed significantly smaller fevers than did animals that were less than 1.0 year old (p less than 0.001). The deficit in the febrile response of older animals was specifically related to an absence of the second peak of fever.

Aging↗
PubMed1981

Expired air volumes of males and females during cold water immersion.

Expired air volumes were measured from a random population of adult male and female human volunteers before and during short-term immersion in either cold (13.53 +/- 0.13 degrees C) or warm (33.18 +/- 0.11 degrees C) water. A statistically significant difference was found in the pulmonary ventilation over the first 4 min of immersion between males and females when immersed in cold water. The swim suits worn could not account for the differences observed. No statistically significant difference in pulmonary ventilation was found between males and females during warm water immersion. A numerically smaller group of volunteers was preheated in a sauna before immersion in cold or warm water and this resulted in an attenuated ventilatory response. In this instance there is no statistically significant difference in ventilation between males and females. Also, in another small group of volunteers, surface and deep skin temperatures were continuously measured before and during immersion in cold water. The rates of change of deep skin temperature between males and females were found to be similar.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Arginine vasopressin and endogenous antipyresis: evidence and significance.

A central nervous system pathway appears to exist that can suppress fevers in near-term females and their newborn, as indicated by sheep and guinea pig experiments. This same fever-modulating pathway may control febrile rises in body temperature under normal circumstances. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) may function as a neurotransmitter in this pathway, and evidence for such a role is presented. The significance of a system that negatively modulates fever is discussed from the point of view of the near-term female and newborn, and from the point of view of the normal control of fever.

Animals↗