Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0004134 (ataxia)
 15,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The reduction of neurogenic posttetanic potentiation in the slow twitch, soleus muscle is an index of impaired motor nerve function in cats with organophosphate-induced neuropathy. We have applied the measurement of posttetanic potentiation to study the functional state of the slow, tonic, plantaris muscle and its motor innervation in adult White Leghorn hens with tri-o-tolyl phosphate (TOTP)-induced neuropathy. At suitable intervals following single oral doses of vehicle or TOTP (500 mg/kg), nerve conduction velocity and posttetanic potentiation were measured in anesthetized hens. Conduction in the sciatic nerve was not altered by TOTP. The plantaris muscle of birds treated with vehicle (peanut oil) either failed to contract or responded to nerve stimulation at 0.4 Hz with very small twitches. Following nerve stimulation at frequencies inducing tetanus (50-140 Hz), the muscles responded with large, slow twitches that gradually decayed in amplitude. The area under the curve formed by the amplitude of these twitches over time (posttetanic potentiation) was directly proportional to the frequency and duration of nerve stimulation. In hens at 1,2, and 4 weeks following treatment with TOTP, the average amount of posttetanic potentiation was reduced concomitantly with the development of ataxia, paralysis, and pathological changes in the peripheral nerves. This difference between vehicle- and TOTP-treated hens was not significant, owing to large interbird variations. Since TOTP-treated hens showed greater disturbances in gait following moderate exercise, the fatigue of posttetanic potentiation with periodic neuronal stimulation was measured.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:The function of motor nerves innervating slow tonic skeletal muscle in hens with delayed neuropathy induced by tri-o-tolyl phosphate. 650 74

The present study describes the interaction between carbamazepine (CBZ) and viloxazine, a recently synthesized antidepressant agent. Seven epileptic patients on chronic anticonvulsant therapy showed a significant (p less than 0.005) increase in steady-state serum CBZ levels (from 8.1 +/- 2.5 SD to 12.1 +/- 2.5 SD micrograms/ml) when viloxazine (300 mg/day) was added to the therapy. The effect was associated with the appearance of mild CBZ intoxication. The symptoms of this intoxication (i.e., dizziness, ataxia, fatigue, drowsiness) disappeared rapidly, and serum CBZ levels decreased to the basal values, when viloxazine administration was stopped.
 ...
PMID:Effect of viloxazine on serum carbamazepine levels in epileptic patients. 674 18

A Phase I trial of acivicin [L-(alpha S,5S)-alpha-amino-3-chloro-4,5-dihydro-5-isoxazoleacetic acid] has been performed on an escalating-dosage 24-hr continuous i.v. infusion schedule. Thirty-one patients received 77 courses of treatment, and all but one were evaluable for toxicity. Pharmacological monitoring in selected patients demonstrated that peak plasma levels correlated with dose. Postinfusion t1/2 beta was 6 to 9 hr, and urinary recovery of the administered dose was 14 to 19% as unchanged drug during the 24-hr infusion. Hematological and gastrointestinal toxicities were variable and not dose related. In contrast, neurotoxicity characterized by lethargy, fatigue, confusion, disorientation, hallucinations, nightmares, and truncal ataxia was dose limiting and related to plasma drug levels. A minimal antitumor response was observed in a patient with colorectal carcinoma, and a partial response occurred in a patient with liver metastases from gastric carcinoma. The recommended dose for Phase II trial by 24-hr infusion is 160 mg/sq m.
 ...
PMID:Phase I and pharmacological study of acivicin by 24-hour continuous infusion. 710 49

Two children and 29 of 31 crew members aboard a grain freighter became acutely ill after inhaling the toxic fumigant phosphine; one child died. Predominant symptoms were headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, cough, and shortness of breath. Abnormal physical findings included jaundice, paresthesias, ataxia, intention tremor, and diplopia. Focal myocardial infiltration with necrosis, pulmonary edema, and widespread small-vessel injury were found at postmortem examination of the dead child. The surviving child showed ECG and echocardiographic evidence of myocardial injury and transient elevation of the MB fraction of serum creatinine phosphokinase. Illness was significantly associated with living or working amidships or on the forward deck areas of the vessel. Phosphine gas was found to have escaped from the holds through a cable housing located near the midships ventilation intake and around hatch covers on the forward deck. The outbreak illustrates the hazards associated with shipboard fumigation.
 ...
PMID:Acute phosphine poisoning aboard a grain freighter. Epidemiologic, clinical, and pathological findings. 738 74

When divers are exposed to extreme atmospheric pressures they may exhibit symptoms of the high pressure nervous syndrome (HPNS). Although clinical HPNS symptoms are well described, little is known about the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms. Special HPNS signs like vertigo and tremor suggested sensory-motor hyperexcitability resulting from brainstem dysfunction. We therefore studied brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) repeatedly in four divers during an experimental deep helium-oxygen saturation dive to 450 meters of seawater (msw). Wave I (auditory nerve response) latency decreased whereas interpeak latencies (IPLs) I-III and I-V, which indicate respective cochleo-pontine and cochleo-mesencephalic transmission time, prolonged during the dive. IPLs III-V also prolonged the dive, but with greater variability among divers. Two divers showed a marked reversal of the normal attenuation effect of increased stimulus presentation rates on IV and V amplitudes during compression, an effect that subsided during the stay at bottom depth. This finding might indicate a relative enhancement of synaptic excitability and is presumed to be a feature of HPNS. Wave I latency reduction might at least partly be caused by accelerated sound conduction in dense helium. Additionally, an upward shift of middle ear resonance frequencies in helium can induce a basal shift of the main cochlear portion responding to the wide band clicks. This effect may reduce wave I latency due to greater relative input from the basal high frequency-short latency-cochlear neurons. Pressure-induced decrease of nerve conduction velocity, delay of synaptic transmission, and inhibitory modulation of midbrain auditory afferents possibly contributed to observed interpeak latency prolongations. Clinical HPNS signs, such as tiredness, dizziness, postural and intentional hand tremor, ataxia, and opsoclonus, were noted in three divers after reaching 300 msw and continued throughout the 37-h stay at bottom depth.
 ...
PMID:Brainstem auditory evoked potentials during a helium-oxygen saturation dive to 450 meters of seawater. 758 Jul 64

Gabapentin is an antiepileptic drug with an unknown mechanism of action apparently dissimilar to that of other antiepileptic agents, and possessing some desirable pharmacokinetic traits. The drug is not protein bound, is not metabolised and does not induce liver enzymes, diminishing the likelihood of drug interactions with other antiepileptic agents and drugs such as oral contraceptives. Although gabapentin is a structural analogue of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which does not cross the blood-brain barrier, gabapentin penetrates into the CNS and its activity is seemingly distinct from GABA-related effects. Present clinical evaluation is largely restricted to proof of efficacy trials of gabapentin as add-on therapy in patients with partial epilepsy resistant to conventional treatment. Gabapentin (usually 600 to 1800 mg/day) provides notable benefit, reducing seizure frequency by > or = 50% in 18 to 28% of patients with refractory partial seizures, as shown in 3 double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. Overall, seizure frequency decreased by 18 to 32% during 3-month treatment periods. Patients with complex partial seizures, and partial seizures secondarily generalised, are particularly likely to respond to gabapentin. Current experience with the drug in other seizure types, and as monotherapy, is limited. Mild adverse events, commonly somnolence, fatigue, ataxia and dizziness, have been reported in about 75% of gabapentin recipients. While the drug has been well tolerated when administered to a few patients for periods of up to 5 years, its long term tolerability profile has yet to be fully expounded. Thus, with its favourable pharmacokinetic profile, and efficacy in some refractory patients, gabapentin is poised to fill a niche as an adjunct to the treatment of partial epilepsy. Promising results obtained thus far warrant further work to clarify its long term tolerability, its possible efficacy in other seizure types, its position relative to other agents and its use as monotherapy. In the meantime, gabapentin is likely to provide a much-needed option in a therapeutic area requiring complex management.
 ...
PMID:Gabapentin. A review of its pharmacological properties and clinical potential in epilepsy. 769 32

This communication concerns a 55 year old woman with a 5 year history of chronic progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in whom a single external application of extremely low magnetic fields (MF) (7.5 picoTesla; 5 Hz frequency) of 20 minutes duration resulted in a rapid improvement in symptoms including vision, cerebellar symptomatology (ataxia and dysarthria), bladder functions, mood, sleep, cognitive functions and fatigue. Improvement in the patient's symptoms was associated with normalization of the pretreatment abnormal visual evoked potential (VEP) latencies within 24 hours after magnetic treatment. The rapid normalization of the VEP latencies suggests that recovery did not occur as a result of remyelination but probably was related to enhancement of neurotransmitter functions. MF have been shown to alter cellular calcium metabolism which may facilitate axonal conduction in demyelinating plaques. Furthermore, as MF affects the release of the pineal gland's principal hormone, melatonin, which influences the release of monoamines, it is also hypothesized that the effects of picoTesla MF in MS are partly mediated by the pineal gland which has recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of MS (Sandyk, 1992 a).
 ...
PMID:Rapid normalization of visual evoked potentials by picoTesla range magnetic fields in chronic progressive multiple sclerosis. 781 17

Acute hypothermia and central nervous symptoms were observed in a 1 1/2 year-old child treated with erythromycin. The symptoms were mild hypothermia, ataxia, somnolence and apparent fatigue. Withdrawal of erythromycin led to reversal of the symptoms. Such side effects of antibiotics may be misinterpreted as involvement of the central nervous system in the infection for which the drug was given.
 ...
PMID:[Acute hypothermia and adverse effects on the central nervous system during erythromycin therapy]. 791 59

Amantadine and rimantadine are recommended for the treatment and prophylaxis of influenza A infections, and constitute an integral component of influenza control measures in the nursing home setting. However, optimal use necessitates a thorough understanding of the toxicity profiles of these agents, as well as strategies to reduce the risk of adverse reactions. Adverse reactions of these compounds predominantly involve the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system (CNS), including hyperexcitability, slurred speech, tremors, insomnia, dizziness, mood disturbance, ataxia, psychosis and fatigue. Based on data from comparative trials, rimantadine appears to exhibit a lesser propensity to cause adverse CNS reactions than amantadine, but a similar propensity to cause adverse gastrointestinal reactions. Factors enhancing the risk of adverse reactions to these agents include reduced renal function (especially for amantadine), drug-drug interactions with cationic drugs, which inhibit amantadine renal tubular secretion (e.g. trimethoprim, triamterene, and possibly cimetidine and procainamide), elevated peak and trough plasma concentrations, and a history of seizures. Careful attention to published dosage adjustment guidelines for these compounds, avoidance of interacting drugs and avoiding these agents in patients with a history of seizures may be the best means to reduce the risk of toxicity in elderly patients. Rimantadine may have an advantage over amantadine in the elderly population in light of its lesser propensity to cause adverse reactions, less complex dosage adjustment in the case of renal impairment and probable lack of drug-drug interaction potential with cationic drugs.
 ...
PMID:Amantadine and rimantadine prophylaxis of influenza A in nursing homes. A tolerability perspective. 791 41

A 17-year-old girl was admitted to our hospital because of drowsiness, diplopia and gait difficulty. She had been well until ten days before admission when fever, drowsiness, headache and general fatigue developed. On admission, there were drowsiness, ophthalmoplegia, ataxia and hyporeflexia. CSF cells and anti-CMV antibody titers increased. CMV-DNA was detected in the CSF by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Serum anti-GQ1b antibody was positive. During recovery, forced laughing temporarily appeared. The neurological symptoms disappeared completely. CSF anti-CMV antibody titers became normalized and CSF CMV-DNA-PCR became negative. This is the first case report of Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis associated with CMV infection.
 ...
PMID:[Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis associated with cytomegalovirus infection]. 802 40


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>