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)

The dog with an end-to-side portacaval shunt (PCS) has been extensively used as a model to investigate hepatic encephalopathy (HE) as it demonstrates a plasma amino acid pattern similar to patients with chronic liver disease. In adult mongrel dogs, the effect of PCS on plasma and CSF amino acids, octopamine (OCT), phenylethanolamine (PEA) and CSF 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA), were studied. Moreover, the effect of correction of plasma amino acids by infusional techniques was investigated.Tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine levels increased dramatically during the development of HE in plasma and CSF, while valine, leucine and isoleucine decreased in plasma only, but CSF levels remained stable. Plasma and CSF octopamine and phenylethanolamine and CSF 5-HIAA increased markedly as clinical features in the dogs' behavior, characteristic of hepatic encephalopathy occurred, including hypersalivation, ataxia, flapping tremor, somnolence and finally coma. Once in coma, the dogs were infused with an amino acid mixture (F080) calculated to normalize the plasma amino acid pattern. After one to eight hours, the dogs began to awake. Simultaneously, blood, and CSF aromatic amino acids returned to their control values, as did OCT, PEA and CSF 5-HIAA. If F080 infusion was stopped, biochemical alterations would appear within one week, again accompanied by clinical hepatic encephalopathy.The results indicate that the altered levels of aromatic and branched chain amino acids, octopamine and PEA in plasma and CSF correlate well with the development of HE and that correction of the plasma amino acid abnormalities improves encephalopathy simultaneously with correction of neurotransmitter derangements in CSF.
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PMID:Alterations in plasma and CSF amino acids, amines and metabolites in hepatic coma. 63 94

The interactions of caffeine (10 mg/kg p. o.) with various doses of ethanol, diazepam or pentobarbital were investigated by observing the ambulatory activity of mice. The ambulatory activities after the coadministration of caffeine with ethanol (1.6, 2.4 and 3.2 g/kg p. o.) were significantly higher than those after the single administration of the corresponding doses of individual drugs. Ethanol alone significantly increased the activity with ataxia at 2.4 and 3.2 g/kg, suggesting that 1.6 g/kg of ethanol was an optimum dose for studying the interaction of caffeine with ethanol. Although diazepam (0.25, 0.5 and 2 mg/kg s. c.) and pentobarbital (1, 3 and 10 mg/kg s. c.) alone did not change the activity, they significantly reduced the effect of caffeine. Naloxone (1 and 5 mg/kg s. c.) did not modify the effect of caffeine alone, but, at 5 mg/kg, it was effective in significantly reducing the ambulation-increasing effect of caffeine with ethanol (1.6 g/kg) to nearly the level of caffeine alone. Ca-cyanamide (5 mg/kg p. o., pretreatment 30 min before), reserpine (1 mg/kg s. c., pretreatment 4 hr before) and alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (200 mg/kg i. p., pretreatment 1 hr before) reduced the ambulation increment induced by caffeine alone or combination of caffeine with ethanol. Ethanol, diazepam and pentobarbital are classified as CNS depressants, and caffeine as a CNS stimulant. However, the present experiment demonstrated that the interaction of caffeine with ethanol was very different from that of caffeine with diazepam or pentobarbital. In the enhancing interaction of caffeine and ethanol, both dopaminergic and endogenous opioid systems may be involved.
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PMID:Ethanol enhances, but diazepam and pentobarbital reduce the ambulation-increasing effect of caffeine in mice. 144 12

Characteristics of the ambulation-increasing effect of MK-801, a non-competitive NMDA antagonist, were assessed through the coadministration of MK-801 with various central-acting drugs in mice. The MK-801 (0.3 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced ambulation-increment with a slight ataxia was maximum at around 50 min, and ambulation returned to the control level at about 3 hr after the administration. At 1 mg/kg, the mouse's activity transiently increased, followed by a decrease due to a marked ataxia, which was due to neither stereotypy nor convulsion, for 20-50 min, and then increased again; the ambulation-increment continued even at 4 hr after the administration. Coadministration of MK-801 (0.3 mg/kg, i.p.) with either methamphetamine (2 mg/kg, s.c.), cocaine (20 mg/kg, s.c.), GBR-12909 (10 mg/kg, i.p.), scopolamine (0.5 mg/kg, s.c.), caffeine (10 mg/kg, s.c.) or morphine (10 mg/kg, s.c.) produced a significant enhancement of the effect. However, 0.1 mg/kg of MK-801 had no effect on the interaction with these drugs. On the other hand, the ambulation-increasing effect of MK-801 (0.3 mg/kg) was significantly reduced by haloperidol (0.3 and 0.1 mg/kg, s.c.), ceruletide (0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg, i.p.), reserpine (0.05 and 2 mg/kg, s.c., pretreatment 4 hr before) and nimodipine (1 and 3 mg/kg, i.p.), but it was scarcely modified by alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (100 and 200 mg/kg, i.p., pretreatment 24 hr and 4 hr before), imipramine (20 mg/kg, i.p.), 6R-L-erythro-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-biopterin (100 mg/kg, i.p.), pilocarpine (1 and 4 mg/kg, s.c.), N6-(L-2-phenylisopropyl)-adenosine (0.03 and 0.1 mg/kg, s.c.) and naloxone (1 and 5 mg/kg, s.c.).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Characteristics of the ambulation-increasing effect of the noncompetitive NMDA antagonist MK-801 in mice: assessment by the coadministration with central-acting drugs. 164 Jun 58

Various doses (0.1-0.5 mg/kg i.p.) of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, MK-801, produced a dose-dependent increase in well-coordinated locomotor activity of NMRI mice. Higher doses (greater than 0.5 mg/kg) produced a typical motor syndrome characterized by head weaving, body rolling, ataxia and salivation. MK-801, 0.2 mg/kg i.p., a dose which produced marked locomotor stimulation, increased the rate of disappearance of dopamine in the striatum and in the limbic forebrain of the animals, whereas the rate of disappearance of noradrenaline remained unchanged in the limbic forebrain and in the hippocampus. MK-801 increased the rate of tyrosine hydroxylation (measured as the accumulation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) after inhibition of DOPA decarboxylase) in the striatum with no change in DOPA formation in the limbic forebrain. The levels of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) remained unchanged both in the striatum and in the limbic forebrain following the administration of MK-801. It is concluded that MK-801 may facilitate the activation of dopaminergic mechanisms through an indirect (perhaps by reducing glutamatergic activity) rather than a direct effect on dopamine neurons.
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PMID:Effect of the NMDA receptor antagonist, MK-801, on locomotor activity and on the metabolism of dopamine in various brain areas of mice. 182 83

Acivicin is an investigational amino acid antitumor antibiotic currently being evaluated in Phase II clinical trials. In humans acivicin causes reversible, dose-limiting central nervous system (CNS) effects including somnolence, ataxia, personality changes, and hallucinations. We have observed and reported previously that acivicin-treated cats exhibit symptoms (ataxia, sedation, somnolence) resembling CNS toxicity reported in humans. We hypothesized that if acivicin uptake into brain were mediated by a saturable transport system common to endogenous amino acids, drug uptake and CNS toxicity might be blocked by elevation of normal amino acid concentrations in circulating plasma. To test this hypothesis, cats received constant-rate i.v. infusions of either saline or Aminosyn, 10% (a commercially available mixture of 16 amino acids not containing glutamine, glutamate, aspartate, or cysteine) for 4 h prior to and 18 h subsequent to administration of acivicin at a dose producing marked behavioral changes in control cats. Presence or absence of ataxia and sedation were noted at intervals after acivicin treatment. Results showed that Aminosyn infusion prevented CNS symptoms in six of eight cats. Subsequent experiments showed that acivicin levels in brain tissue of Aminosyn-treated cats were 13% of the drug levels in saline-infused cats. Acivicin levels in most peripheral tissues were also decreased significantly by Aminosyn infusion but not to the extent observed in brain. Decreased brain uptake was shown to be due to a combination of amino acid blockade of drug transport into that organ and of increased total body clearance of drug. Concomitant Aminosyn treatment did not alter the efficacy of acivicin in mice bearing L1210 leukemia or MX-1 human mammary carcinoma. Further studies demonstrated that a solution containing only four large neutral amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, and valine) could also protect cats from acivicin-induced CNS toxicity, apparently without increasing acivicin total body clearance. However, a mixture of several other amino acids contained in Aminosyn (alanine, arginine, tyrosine, histidine, proline, serine, and glycine) failed to prevent CNS toxicity. We conclude that cotreatment with Aminosyn or a mixture of large neutral amino acids could protect cancer patients from acivicin-induced CNS toxicity without ablating antitumor efficacy.
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PMID:Prevention of central nervous system toxicity of the antitumor antibiotic acivicin by concomitant infusion of an amino acid mixture. 238 52

The intracerebrally administered dynorphin-B produced not only an antinociceptive response but a motor dysfunction such as "barrel-rolling", circling, jumping or ataxia in mice. These two effects were observed in a same dose range. Both responses were also produced by a nonopioid fragment, des-Tyr-dynorphin-B. Bestatin, an aminopeptidase inhibitor, markedly potentiated the antinociceptive response induced by dynorphin-B but not the motor dysfunction. Bestatin did not affect the responses produced by des-Tyr-dynorphin-B. In the presence of bestatin, low doses of dynorphin-B produced an antinociceptive response without the motor dysfunction. Naloxone antagonized the potentiated antinocicpetion but had no effect on the motor dysfunction. These results suggest that dynorphin-B produced an analgesia through opioid receptors and that this peptide also induced a motor dysfunction through a nonopioid receptor.
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PMID:Bestatin potentiates the antinociception but not the motor dysfunction induced by intracerebrally administered dynorphin-B in mice. 256

The results of a dose-response study of the effects of nicotine on exploratory behavior in male rats is reported. Nicotine at 0.5 mg/kg elevated locomotor activity without significantly changing other parameters of exploration. Low-dose nicotine (0.2 mg/kg) did not produce any effect on exploration measures, while high-dose nicotine (0.8 mg/kg) produced a state of ataxia in animals and decreased most exploration measures in general. Additional, nicotine at high doses seems to reduce the animal's state of fear/anxiety, while at low dose the drug seems to increase the animal's level of curiosity in a novel environment. Biochemically, nicotine has been found to accelerate dopamine synthesis and norepinephrine turnover, and to decrease serotonin turnover. More importantly, the amino acid precursors tyrosine and tryptophan were found to be the neurochemical measures most related to the behavioral changes produced by nicotine.
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PMID:Effects of nicotine on exploratory behavior in rats: correlation with regional brain monoamine levels. 286 44

The actions of the serotonin precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), the agonist 5-methoxy-N,N-dimetyltryptamine (MeODMT) and quipazine (QPZ) and the antagonists cyproheptadine, methysergide and metergoline, were studied in the rat and in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). The precursor and agonists elicited head shakes, forepaw padding, splayed hindlimbs, tremor and Straub tail in the rat. However, head shakes were not observed after MeODMT and Straub tail was not observed after QPZ. Carbidopa plus 5-HTP potentiated only head shakes, while tranylcypromine (TCP) plus 5-HTP potentiated all the behaviors above. In the marmoset, the action of these drugs elicited drowsiness, teeth chattering, ataxia, vomiting and decreased motor activity, although vomiting was not elicited by MeODMT and ataxia and drowsiness by QPZ. Although TCP plus 5-HTP potentiated all these behaviors, carbidopa plus 5-HTP was not effective. Rats treated with the antagonists (1.0, 5.0 and 10 mg/kg doses) did not show any of these behaviors, but marmosets treated with the same drugs developed "drowsiness", vomiting, and decreased motor activity; nonetheless, cyproheptadine (5.0 and 10 mg/kg doses) did not elicit "drowsiness", while increasing motor activity and the number of head shakes. Pretreatment of marmosets with these antagonists blocked only teeth chattering elicited by MeODMT (4.0 mg/kg) and QPZ (10 mg/kg). Pretreatment with haloperidol, p-chlorophenylalanine and alpha-methyl-P-tyrosine had no effect. The data obtained show that rats and marmosets present differential behavioral responses to the 5-HT drugs used.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Rats and marmosets respond differently to serotonin agonists and antagonists. 311 2

Initiated social interactions of Macaca speciosa are decreased during the period of treatment with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine, an inhibitor of catecholamine synthesis. The treated animals maintained stable body weights and appeared to be healthy. Similar depletion of indoleamines with p-chlorophenylalanine does not change these same observed behaviors in spite of weight loss, hair loss, ataxia, and debilitation in some of the animals.
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PMID:Social behavior of monkeys selectively depleted of monoamines. 425 1

Acrylamide, a widely used and chemically active substance, has caused delayed distal neuropathy in man and in experimental animals. Male rats administered 50 mg/kg/day acrylamide for 5 days demonstrated ataxia in preliminary rotorod experiments. Additional groups of rats were dosed with 5, 15 or 50 mg/kg/day acrylamide for 5 days, then sacrificed on day 6 at various time intervals after iv injections of tritiated tyrosine (Tyr) or tryptophan (Trp). Brain levels of Tyr, Trp, norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), and respective metabolites, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol sulfate (MOPEG-sulfate), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were assayed fluorometrically. Turnover rates of NE, DA and 5-HT were estimated by evaluating the rates of specific activity changes in neurotransmitters and precursor amino acids over time. A slight reduction of whole brain NE content was observed in rats administered 50 mg/kg/day acrylamide. Other neurotransmitter levels were not affected by acrylamide levels administered, nor were turnover rates affected. Levels of MOPEG-sulfate and DOPAC were unchanged at any dose tested. Increased levels of 5-HIAA were observed in rats receiving 15 and 50 mg/kg/day acrylamide. Results suggest that acrylamide neurotoxicity does not entail widespread damage to the neurons associated with these biogenic amines; however, the acid metabolite efflux from brain was significantly inhibited.
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PMID:Evaluation of acrylamide treatment on levels of major brain biogenic amines, their turnover rates, and metabolites. 688 32


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