Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.1.1.8 (cholinesterase)
 12,691 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Atropine is an anticholinergic drug used in military medicine as an antidote following exposure to cholinesterase-inhibiting nerve agents. However, atropine causes neuropsychologic effects that impair performance. In the present study, we examined electrophysiologic indices that may accompany performance deficits. Quantitative electroencephalographic (EEG) analyses of changes induced by atropine (1.5, 3.0, and 6.0 mg/70 kg, intramuscularly) were assessed in seven male volunteers in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over experiment. Spontaneous EEG recordings were obtained from relaxed subjects before, 2 hours after, and 8 hours after atropine. Atropine significantly increased delta power, decreased alpha power, and tended to increase theta power and reduce beta and theta frequency. EEG indices of vigilance were reduced by the drug. Dose-related increases in sedation and dysphoria were obtained; some subjects liked these effects. Together, these findings confirmed that atropine causes dose- and time-related electrophysiologic and subjective effects that predict impaired performance.
Mil Med 1990 Apr
PMID:Dose-dependent atropine-induced changes in spontaneous electroencephalogram in human volunteers. 211 Mar 38

The effects of soman poisoning on hematological (counts of red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), and platelets and measurement of hematocrit) and coagulation parameters (prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time and concentrations of fibrinogen, factor V, factor VII, and factor XI) and serum biochemistry (concentration of albumin, protein, calcium, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), magnesium, and creatinine and activities of alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, cholinesterase, creatinine phosphokinase (CPK), hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, and amylase) were determined at 1, 2, 4, 24, and 48 hours after poisoning of rabbits. There were significant (p less than 0.05) decreases in the RBC counts in all treatment groups that were measured initially at 4 hours and were reflected by parallel decreases in the hematocrit values. These changes were probably due to an increase in the hemolysis of the RBC rather than a decrease in the production of RBC. There were minor changes in the coagulation parameters. Generally, the fibrinogen content increased. The activated partial thromboplastin time decreased significantly (p less than 0.05) 24 and 48 hours after soman (50 micrograms/kg) poisoning. Blood cholinesterase values were significantly reduced in all treatment groups at all time periods. The CPK activity was increased after 4 and 24 hours in the 20 and 50 micrograms/kg soman groups. There were minor changes in the other biochemistry values, but none that showed a dose-response relationship; thus, they were considered to be of limited significance with regard to the toxic manifestations of soman exposure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Mil Med 1990 Jun
PMID:Effects of soman poisoning on hematology and coagulation parameters and serum biochemistry in rabbits. 212 98

O-ethyl S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methylphosphonothioate (VX) is an extremely toxic organophosphate nerve agent that has been weaponized and stockpiled in a number of different countries, and it has been used in recent terrorist events. It differs from other well-known organophosphate nerve agents in that its primary use is as a contact poison rather than as an inhalation hazard. For this reason, we examined the effects of application site and skin decontamination on VX toxicity in anesthetized domestic swine after topical application. VX applied to the surface of the ear rapidly resulted in signs of toxicity consistent with the development of cholinergic crisis, including apnea and death. VX on the epigastrium resulted in a marked delayed development of toxic signs, reduced toxicity, and reduction in the rate of cholinesterase depression compared with animals exposed on the ear. Skin decontamination (15 minutes post-VX on the ear) arrested the development of clinical signs and prevented further cholinesterase inhibition and death. These results confirm earlier work that demonstrates the importance of exposure site on the resultant toxicity of this agent and they also show that decontamination postexposure has the potential to be an integral and extremely important component of medical countermeasures against this agent.
Mil Med 2004 Nov
PMID:Clinical aspects of percutaneous poisoning by the chemical warfare agent VX: effects of application site and decontamination. 1560 29

Recent uses of nerve agents underline the need of early diagnosis as trigger to react (initiating medical countermeasures, avoiding cross-contamination). As organophosphorus (OP) pesticide poisoning exerts the same pathomechanism, that is, inhibition of the pivotal enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), a portable cholinesterase (ChE) test kit was applied in an emergency room for rapid diagnosis of OP poisoning. OP nerve agents or pesticides result in the inhibition of AChE. As AChE is also expressed on erythrocytes, patient samples are easily available. However, in most clinics only determination of plasma butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is established which lacks a pathophysiological correlate, shows higher variability in the population and behaves different regarding inhibition by OP and reactivation by oximes. The ChE test kit helped to diagnose atypical cases of OP poisoning, for example, missing of typical muscarinic symptoms, and resulted in administration of pralidoxime, the oxime used in Serbia. The ChE test kit also allows an initial assessment whether an oxime therapy is successful. In one case report, AChE activity increased after oxime administration indicating therapeutic success whereas BChE activity did not. With only BChE at hand, this therapeutic effect would have been missed. As inhibition of AChE or BChE activity is determined, the CE-certified device is a global diagnostic tool for all ChE inhibitors including carbamates which might also be misused as chemical weapon. The ChE test kit is a helpful point-of-care device for the diagnosis of ChE inhibitor poisoning. Its small size and easy menu-driven use advocate procurement where nerve agent and OP pesticide exposure are possible.
BMJ Mil Health 2020 Apr
PMID:Early diagnosis of nerve agent exposure with a mobile test kit and implications for medical countermeasures: a trigger to react. 3208 65