Biomedical subjects

L Turski

Publications and source records attributed to L Turski.

157 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Role of opioid receptors in the substantia nigra in morphine-induced muscular rigidity.

Uni- or bilateral injection of morphine (MO) (3-13 nmoles) into the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNR) produced tonic activity in the electromyogram (EMG) recorded from the gastrocnemius-soleus (GS) muscle of non-anesthesized rats. This activity was antagonized by naloxone (NAL) (10 nmoles) coadministered with MO into the SNR. Bilateral lesion of the caudate nucleus (CN) with kainic acid did not prevent the tonic EMG activity occurring after the injection of MO into the SNR. Unilateral injection of MO (40 nmoles) into the CN also induced tonic EMG activity in the GS-muscle, which was antagonized by NAL (10 nmoles) administered into the SNR ipsilaterally and simultaneously to the intrastriatal injection of MO. The results suggest that enkephalinergic mechanisms in the SNR seem to play a crucial role in the function of striatal efferent pathways relayed in the SNR.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Disinhibition of nigral GABA output neurons mediates muscular rigidity elicited by striatal opioid receptor stimulation.

Unilateral injection of bicuculline (12.5-50 ng) into the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNR) dose-dependently produced a tonic activity in the electromyogram (EMG), which was antagonized by coadministered muscimol. Bilateral lesions of the caudate nucleus with kainic acid failed to affect the EMG activity produced by unilateral injection of bicuculline into the SNR. Administration of muscimol (12.5 and 25 ng) into the SNR antagonized the tonic activity in the EMG produced by morphine (15 mg/kg i.p.), whereas bicuculline (50 ng) enhanced it. These results suggest that an impairment in the GABAergic neurotransmission in the SNR is relevant for mediating the tonic activity in the EMG produced by morphine and that GABAergic mechanisms in the SNR play an important role in the modulating the opioid-induced alterations in the striatal function.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Aminophylline and CGS 8216 reverse the protective action of diazepam against electroconvulsions in mice.

Aminophylline (50 and 100 mg/kg) and CGS 8216 (20 and 40 mg/kg) decreased the anticonvulsant potency of diazepam (5 and 10 mg/kg) against electroshock-induced seizures. It should be emphasized that aminophylline moderately affected the protective action of the benzodiazepine at a dose of 5 mg/kg, whereas it was equipotent with CGS 8216 with regard to diazepam at a dose of 10 mg/kg. Consequently, participation of a purinergic component in the anticonvulsant action of diazepam is suggested. On the other hand, the use of aminophylline in epileptic patients suffering from asthma seems unjustified.

Aminophylline↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of aminophylline on the protective action of common antiepileptic drugs against electroconvulsions in mice.

The increasing amount of data tends to suggest that adenosine-mediated inhibition may play a role in the anticonvulsant activity of a number of antiepileptic drugs. Consequently, we tried to reverse the protective action of acetazolamide [(40 and 80 mg/kg) i.p.; 60 min before the test]; carbamazepine (20 and 30 mg/kg i.p., 60 min); diazepam (5 and 10 mg/kg i.p., 60 min); diphenylhydantoin (8 and 12 mg/kg i.p., 120 min), phenobarbital (20 and 30 mg/kg i.p., 120 min) and valproate (200 and 300 mg/kg i.p., 30 min) with aminophylline (50 and 100 mg/kg i.p., 30 min) against electroconvulsions in mice. Aminophylline markedly decreased the anticonvulsant efficacy of almost all drugs studied, acetazolamide (40 and 80 mg/kg) and carbamazepine (30 mg/kg) being the only exceptions. The ethylenediamine component of aminophylline did not modify the anticonvulsant activity at all. These results seem to support the suggestion that aminophylline-induced blockade of adenosine receptors might be involved in the reversal of the protective action of at least some drugs studied. Regardless of the nature of the aminophylline-induced impairment in the anticonvulsant efficacy of a number of antiepileptic drugs, the use of methylxanthines in epileptic patients for the treatment of obstructive lung diseases should be avoided.

Aminophylline↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of aminophylline and enprofylline on the protective efficacy of common antiepileptic drugs against electroconvulsions in mice.

The anticonvulsant potency of phenobarbital (PB) (120 min before the test), phenytoin (PHT) (120 min), carbamazepine (CBZ) (60 min), valproate (VPA) (30 min), and acetazolamide (60 min) alone or in combination with either aminophylline (50 mg/kg, 30 min) or enprofylline (46.2 mg/kg, 30 min) was measured against maximal electroshock-induced convulsions in mice. All drugs were administered intraperitoneally (i.p.), and the protective efficacy of each drug was expressed as ED50 in milligrams per kilogram. Aminophylline decreased anticonvulsant activity of PB, PHT, CBZ, and VPA, increasing the respective ED50 values from 16 to 28 mg/kg, 7.4 to 14 mg/kg, 18 to 26 mg/kg, and 260 to 335 mg/kg. On the contrary, enprofylline in the equimolar dose did not exert such effect. Furthermore, neither aminophylline nor enprofylline affected anticonvulsant action of acetazolamide. The present data favor enprofylline as a preferable drug for treatment of obstructive lung diseases in epilepsy patients. However, accurate pharmacokinetic data in mice and men for both xanthines are necessary if one attempts to compare their cerebral and pulmonary actions.

Aminophylline↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Long-term effects of pilocarpine in rats: structural damage of the brain triggers kindling and spontaneous recurrent seizures.

Structural damage of the human brain (perinatal damage, cerebral trauma, head injury, cerebrovascular and degenerative diseases, intracranial tumor, metabolic diseases, toxins, drug-induced seizures) may lead to chronic epilepsy in survivors. Epidemiologic analyses show that a considerable time-delay occurs between the exposure of the brain to injury and the appearance of seizures. Such seizures are usually partial or mixed, may develop at any age, and are difficult to treat. In rats subjected to structural damage of the brain induced by sustained convulsions triggered by systemic administration of the cholinergic agent pilocarpine, spontaneous seizures may develop after a mean latency of 14-15 days. The mean frequency of spontaneous recurrent convulsions remains constant for several months. Evolution of these convulsions proceeds through several electrographic and behavioral stages resembling kindling. Kindling may be otherwise induced in rodents by repeated systemic administration of convulsants or by repeated electrical stimulation of sensitive brain regions. These observations demonstrate that structural damage of the brain may lead to spontaneously recurrent convulsions (chronic epilepsy) in rats and that kindling may be involved in the evolution of such a condition. This finding suggests that kindling mechanisms underlie the development of epileptic foci from structural brain lesions. Such mechanisms may be involved in the etiology of some forms of epilepsy in humans.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Spontaneous recurrent seizures in rats: amino acid and monoamine determination in the hippocampus.

Rats subjected to structural brain damage induced by sustained convulsions triggered by systemic administration of pilocarpine (PILO) are a useful model for investigation of the mechanisms essential for seizure generation and spread in rodents. After PILO administration, three distinct phases are observed: (a) an acute period of 1-2 days' duration corresponding to a pattern of repetitive limbic seizures and status epilepticus; (b) a seizure-free (silent) period characterized by a progressive return to normal EEG and behavior of 4-44 days' duration; and (c) a period of spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) starting 5-45 days after PILO administration and lasting throughout the animal's life. PILO (320-350 mg/kg intraperitoneally, i.p.) was administered to rats, and the content of hippocampal monoamines and amino acids was measured in the acute, silent, and SRS periods by liquid chromatography. Norepinephrine (NE) level was decreased during all periods whereas dopamine (DA) content was increased. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) was increased only in the acute period. Utilization rate measurement of monoamines showed increased NE consumption and decreased DA consumption during all phases. 5-HT utilization rate was increased only in the acute period. Amino acid content showed a decrease in aspartate (ASP) and glutamate (GLU) concentrations associated with increased gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) level during the acute period. The silent phase was characterized by a decrease in glycine (GLY) and GABA levels and an increase in GLU concentration. The SRS period showed an increase in all amino acid concentrations. These findings show important neurochemical changes in the course of establishment of an epileptic focus after brain damage induced by status epilepticus triggered by pilocarpine.

Amines↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The seizures induced by pilocarpine: behavioral, electroencephalographic and neuropathological studies in rodents.

Seizures produced by systemic administration of pilocarpine hydrochloride, a cholinergic muscarinic agonist, in rodents are proposed as a useful animal model of epilepsy. Pilocarpine-induced seizures in rats and mice are characterized by sequential development of behavioral and electrographic signs, which are followed by widespread damage to the forebrain (hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, olfactory cortex, neocortex and substantia nigra). Spontaneous seizures may be observed in the long-term period following the administration of convulsant doses of pilocarpine. In experiments designed to examine neuronal networks engaged in the generation and spread of pilocarpine-induced convulsions, a marked role for the basal ganglia is demonstrated. The caudate-putamen, the substantia nigra and the entopeduncular nucleus were found to govern the propagation of seizures produced by pilocarpine. The antiepileptic potential of drugs (diazepam, clonazepam, phenobarbital, valproic acid and trimethadione) against pilocarpine-induced convulsions correlates with their depressant action on the spontaneous activity of non-dopaminergic cells in the substantia nigra. Developmental studies show age-dependent differences in the convulsant response of rats to pilocarpine and status epilepticus are first noted in 2-3 week-old rats, but there is no clear-cut correlation between seizures and evolution of brain damage at this age. The adult pattern of the damage to forebrain is seen after a delay of 1-2 weeks relative to the development of seizures and status epilepticus. The research on the pilocarpine model of convulsions and other cholinergically mediated seizure syndromes may be of value for designing new therapeutic approaches to epilepsy in.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Anticonvulsant role of adenosine.

The effects of 2-chloroadenosine (2-CLA), a metabolically stable analog of adenosine, and aminophylline, an adenosine receptor antagonist, on seizures produced by pilocarpine (PILO) were examined in rats. The effects of 2-CLA on amygdaloid and hippocampal kindled seimres were also examined. In the animals pretreated with aminophylline (25-100 mg/kg), a non-convulsant dose of PILO (100 mg/kg) resulted in severe motor limbic seizures which rapidly evolved to status epilepticus. 2-CLA (5-10 mg/kg) blocked the appearance of behavioral and EEG seizures produced by a convulsant dose of PILO (380 mg/kg) and completely blocked the evolution of hippocampal and amygdaloid kindled seizures. The results indicate that purinergic mechanisms are involved in the modulation of seizure threshold within the limbic system.

2-Chloroadenosine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The locomotor and exploratory activities in rats after lesion of hippocampal pyramidal cells with kainic acid.

The effect of single kainic acid (KA) intracerebroventricular(icv) injection on spontaneous locomotor, exploratory, basal and total activities in rats measured a different times was tested. Whereas at 3 hr after KA icv administration an increase of the total, basal and spontaneous activities of rats were observed, a great decrease of the exploratory activity was noted. KA at 24 hr after its administration depressed all types of rats activities. From 72nd hr after KA icv injection a significant increase in the total, exploratory and spontaneous locomotor activities without changes in the basal activity was observed. The above mentioned changes persisted up to 10-20 days after KA administration. The histological examinations showed evident neuropathologic changes in hippocampal stratum pyramidale. The most evident changes concerned the hippocampal areas CA3/CA4 and CA1. There were observed shrinking, narrowing and fragmentation of pyramidal cells. An intense progressive gliotic reaction was present among the fragmented cells, the layer of pyramidal cells being considerably diminished.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Prevention of kainic acid-induced seizure-like activity by antiepileptic drugs.

Intracerebroventricular kainic acid (KA) injections produced a seizure-like activity syndrome in mice. It was shown that some antiepileptic drugs (lefadol, depakine, phenobarbital) inhibited this syndrome, diazepam being the most effective in this respect. However, acetazolamide and diphenylhydantoin exerted a rather weak or negligible effect even when given in high doses. Present results may suggest that the effects of intracerebroventicular injections of KA may be employed to test antiepileptic properties of drugs.

Acetazolamide↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The locomotor and stereotype response to dopaminergic drugs and caffeine after intracerebroventricular kainic acid in rats.

The effects of single kainic acid (KA) (0.1 microgram) intracerebroventricular injection on locomotor and stereotypy responses to amphetamine and apomorphine, and on locomotor response to caffeine were measured at different intervals (24, 120, 240, 480 h). The responses to amphetamine and caffeine were markedly elevated during the all period. In contrast, the responses to apomorphine remained unchanged. Histological examination showed severe destructions of neurons and fibres within the nucleus caudatus and the permanent loss of hippocampal pyramidal cells.

Amphetamine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Shuttle behavior in rats after lesion of hippocampal pyramidal cells with kainic acid.

Rats with bilateral lesions of hippocampal pyramidal cells in the subfield CA 3 with intracerebroventricular kainic acid (0.1 microgram/2 microliter) made more shuttle responses to a buzzer in Pavlovian paradigm, classical conditioning and two-way active avoidance but did not differ remarkably in pseudoconditioning and avoidance conditioning without stimulus pairing, than sham-operated and intact control rats. Animals with unilateral lesion in the CA 3 hippocampal subfield showed no differences in these shuttle situations. The results suggest that CA 3 hippocampal pyramidal cells are of particular importance to the establishment of the stimulus-stimulus relations in the brain.

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