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Biomedical subjects

S Cherian

Publications and source records attributed to S Cherian.

42 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Physical dependence on diazepam and lorazepam in the dog.

Dogs, surgically implanted with a gastric fistula, were chronically dosed with diazepam or lorazepam. Diazepam (60 mg/kg/day) or lorazepam (100 mg/kg/day) was administered intragastrically in four divided daily doses. Beginning no less than 2 weeks after the attainment of stabilization doses, dogs underwent withdrawal experiments, repeated at 2-week intervals. At a time of withdrawal determined by a Latin square crossover design, dogs were observed for 8 hr for signs of abstinence. Both diazepam and lorazepam caused a withdrawal abstinence syndrome to appear upon abrupt discontinuation of the drug. The two abstinence syndromes had many signs in common, including tremor, hot foot walking, rigidity and decreased food intake, but the lorazepam withdrawal abstinence syndrome was much less intense and had a shorter latency to onset than the diazepam abstinence syndrome, which also included clonic and tonic-clonic convulsions and was lethal in two dogs. Furthermore, the diazepam withdrawal abstinence syndrome was biphasic, the first phase apparent by 24 hr and a second phase beginning at 48 hr, whereas the lorazepam syndrome was not. Diazepam suppressed the major signs of diazepam abstinence in a dose-related manner, but failed to completely suppress all signs of abstinence. CGS-8216, a pyrazoloquinoline benzodiazepine antagonist, precipitated abstinence in the diazepam-dependent dog, but did not precipitate tonic-clonic seizures. No abstinence syndrome was precipitated in the lorazepam-dependent dog. These results would suggest that whereas diazepam and lorazepam both cause physical dependence the two syndromes are not the same and, furthermore, that physical dependence on, and withdrawal from, diazepam involves at least two separate mechanisms with different selectivity for benzodiazepine agonists and antagonists.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Diazepam and pentobarbital dependence in the rat.

Diazepam (100-133 mg/kg/day), administered chronically through a gastric fistula, and pentobarbital (ca 692 mg/kg/day), administered chronically in food, were studied for their dependence producing properties in Sprague-Dawley female rats. The diazepam abstinence syndrome was apparent 10 to 20 hours after withdrawal, persisted for over 60 hours and consisted of poker tail, explosive awakenings, digging in sawdust, jerks, tremors, wet dog shakes, hostility, decreased food and water consumption and weight loss. The pentobarbital abstinence syndrome came on rapidly peaking within 10 hours and was largely over by 16 hours. The pentobarbital abstinence syndrome differed from diazepam's by the presence of grand mal, clonic and atypical convulsions. Diazepam completely and in a dose related way suppressed the diazepam abstinence syndrome. Similarly pentobarbital suppressed the pentobarbital abstinence syndrome. The signs which could be suppressed in a dose related manner were different for the diazepam and pentobarbital abstinence syndromes. Diazepam only partially suppressed the pentobarbital abstinence syndrome and pentobarbital only partially suppressed the diazepam abstinence syndrome. These data indicate that diazepam and pentobarbital produce different types of dependencies in the rat and are not equivalent in suppressing signs of abstinence.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Rheumatic fever and gonococcal pharyngitis in an adult.

The arthritis of rheumatic fever in adults may mimic acute gonococcal arthritis. To further characterize this clinical picture the features of six patients presenting with the migratory polyarthritis of acute rheumatic fever have been analyzed. There were two men and four women, ranging in age from 18 to 43; in five the initial clinical impression was gonococcal arthritis. In all patients, however, the diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever was subsequently established. Characteristics of acute rheumatic fever not commonly described included tenosynovitis in all six and an erythematous rash in three. In three patients synovial fluid WBC exceeded 28,000/cu mm, with greater than 90% neutrophils. In five of the six, gonococcal arthritis was ruled out by appropriate studies and by failure to respond to antibiotics in all patients. The one patient with serum antigonococcal antibodies had gonococcal pharyngitis and acute rheumatic fever.

Acute Disease↗