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

Physostigmine improved videotape scores of ataxia in patients with various inherited ataxias. This improvement occurred in 12 out of 12 patients when the drug was given as a single dose and in nine of 11 patients when the drug and placebo were given in a long-term, double-blind randomized trial. Patients report various mild to moderate clinical benefits after the sustained use of physostigmine for 6 to 36 months. Videotape scores showed an average of 30% numerical improvement in seven patients after 6 months' sustained treatment. The acute responses are not blocked by methylscopolamine, methylscopolamine did not make ataxia more severe, nor have any patients had fasciculations or changes in strength while on physostigmine. We therefore presume that a central cholinergic mechanism plays some role in the pathophysiology of the inherited ataxias. We do not have direct data on the site or nature of this mechanism. Further studies with other cholinergic agents are now required to investigate the effects and potential clinical efficacy of this class of compounds more completely than has been done up to now.
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PMID:Action of physostigmine on inherited ataxias. 73 25

The paper is aimed at the evaluation the effect of relatively low doses of ethanol and physostigmine salicylate on behavior of the male Wistar rat in an open field test. Both drugs were administered as a solution intragastrically 1 hour before the test started in dose ranges of 0.6-1.8 g/kg and 0.06-0.18 mg/kg, respectively. Lower doses of ethanol showed dose dependent biphasic effect on the ambulation and grooming time in animals. The medium dose 1.2 g/kg was rather ineffective in affecting rat behavior in the hole board test. Individual variables showed different sensitivity to individual ethanol doses. But from the medium dose, individual manifestations of ataxia were observed. Using the dose, only total ambulation, rearing time and rear latency were not affected when the rats were experienced with repeated exposure to open field arena or ethanol dose beforehand. Physostigmine alone increased defecation level significantly by two doses but lower doses changed some of the other variables, too. Combined administration of both drugs in medium doses did not affect the rat behavior considerably. The intra-trial habituation of three parameters of OF behavior seems to be influenced differently. Ethanol showed a tendency to facilitate the habituation of rearing, but rather to interfere with that of grooming. The later effect was also shown for physostigmine 0.12 mg/kg. The experimental part of the paper is supplied by the discussion of aspects important for modulation of rodent behavior in an open field test.
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PMID:Ethanol and physostigmine effects on open field behavior in Wistar rats. 184 Mar 58

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amino acid neurotransmitters, related compounds, and their precursors, choline levels, and acetylcholinesterase activity were measured in the CSF of patients with cerebellar ataxia during a randomized, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled clinical trial of physostigmine salicylate. The CSF gamma-aminobutyric acid, methionine, and choline levels, adjusted for age, were significantly lower in patients with cerebellar ataxia compared with controls. Physostigmine selectively reduced the level of CSF isoleucine and elevated the levels of phosphoethanolamine. No change occurred in CSF acetylcholinesterase activity and in the levels of plasma amino compounds in patients with cerebellar ataxia when compared with controls. Median ataxia scores did not statistically differ between placebo and physostigmine nor did functional improvement occur in any of the patients.
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PMID:Cerebrospinal fluid as a reflector of central cholinergic and amino acid neurotransmitter activity in cerebellar ataxia. 197 60

Effects of physostigmine on ketamine-induced anesthesia and analgesia were studied in male Sprague-Dawley rats using behavioral tests. Rats were divided into six groups. Immediately after loss of the righting reflex following an intraperitoneal injection of ketamine 75 mg/kg, each group of rats was given an intraperitoneal injection of either physostigmine 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 mg/kg or saline as the control, respectively. Physostigmine 0.1 mg/kg caused the greatest antagonistic effect on ketamine anesthesia as indicated by sleeping time, duration of ataxia and motor coordination. The antagonistic effects of physostigmine were reduced by a dose of physostigmine of greater than 0.1 mg/kg. However, at no dose did physostigmine antagonize ketamine analgesia as indicated by the tail-flick latency. Physostigmine (0.4 and 0.6 mg/kg) itself had analgesic and motor-suppressive actions. It can therefore be presumed that there is a limited threshold of the dose of physostigmine which develops an antagonistic effect on ketamine anesthesia due to the motor-suppressive action. It is also confirmed that physostigmine itself produces analgesia, and does not antagonize ketamine-induced analgesia.
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PMID:Antagonistic effect of physostigmine on ketamine-induced anesthesia. 225 36