Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0020672 (hypothermia)
 17,327 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

There are now several acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in clinical use for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, however, no systematic comparative studies of their central and peripheral cholinergic mediated effects in rats appear to have been reported. The present study investigated the dose-response characteristics of donepezil, tacrine, rivastigmine and metrifonate in inducing tremor, lacrimation, salivation and hypothermia and the duration of action of these compounds in Lister hooded rats. Data obtained were compared with the clinical observations on these drugs. Three doses of each compound were given orally to establish a dose-response curve for each behaviour, Tremor and lacrimation were scored, salivation was measured by weighing swabs applied to the mouth area and hypothermia was measured with a rectal probe. ED50 values were calculated for tremor. Using a just sub-maximal tremorigenic dose, the duration of response was examined. All four compounds produced dose-dependent increases in tremor and hypothermia. Only tacrine also produced marked salivation and lacrimation. The order of potency (ED50 value in micromol/kg) was rivastigmine (3.7), donepezil (18.0), tacrine (37.5), metrifonate (470). Tremor following tacrine (150 micromol/kg) and donepezil (20 micromol/kg) was prolonged (> 6 h) with a similar hypothermic response. The duration of these responses following metrifonate (777 micromol/kg) and rivastigmine (12.5 micromol/kg) did not exceed 3 h. Tacrine had poor selectivity for central (tremor) versus peripheral (salivation/lacrimation) effects compared to the other compounds. Donepezil also had a sustained duration of action. The data are consistent with clinical results and indicate that simple in-vivo models may assist in the selection of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors with a suitable response profile for use in the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
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PMID:Comparison of donepezil-, tacrine-, rivastigmine- and metrifonate-induced central and peripheral cholinergically mediated responses in the rat. 1110 8

This study presents a comparison between two inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase, tacrine and E2020 (Donepezil), the 5-HT(3) receptor antagonist ondansetron, and the H(3) receptor antagonist thioperamide, in models of cholinergic function and cognition in male, Lister hooded rats. The cognitive tests used were an operant VI20 task, the delayed match to position task (short-term memory) and the 5-choice serial reaction time task (attention). Scopolamine (SCOP) (0.075mg/kg s.c.) was utilised in both the short-term memory and attention tasks to impair performance. Both tacrine (1-30mg/kg) and E2020 (1-10mg/kg) similarly produced overt cholinomimetic signs of likely central origin (hypothermia, tremor), although tacrine produced more profound peripheral cholinomimetic signs (miosis, secretory signs) than E2020. Tacrine (30mg/kg) and E2020 (10mg/kg) reduced the number of reinforcements gained in the VI20 schedule. Similarly, both drugs attenuated the SCOP-impairment models in the short-term memory and attention tasks (1-3mg/kg). Ondansetron (10ng/kg-1mg/kg) and thioperamide (0.2-10mg/kg) failed to elicit overt cholinomimetic signs or influence the number of food reinforcements gained in the VI20 schedule. Neither ondansetron nor thioperamide attenuated the SCOP-induced impairment in either cognitive task. From the present studies, both E2020 and tacrine showed a similar behavioural profile in the models used, although E2020 was about three times more potent. Furthermore, E2020 but not tacrine appeared to show some discrimination in eliciting central and peripheral cholinomimetic signs. The failure of ondansetron and thioperamide to reverse a SCOP-induced deficit in these models is discussed.
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PMID:Effects of anticholinesterase drugs tacrine and E2020, the 5-HT(3) antagonist ondansetron, and the H(3) antagonist thioperamide, in models of cognition and cholinergic function. 1122 48

Studies in animals exploring the antagonism of the cholinesterase inhibitors soman and sarin have shown that pretreatment with low doses of the centrally acting cholinesterase inhibitor, physostigmine, alone or in conjunction with the centrally acting anticholinergic agent, scopolamine, is effective against their lethality and toxicity. The current study evaluated the effects of pretreatment with the oral anticholinesterase agent, donepezil (Aricept, 2.0 mg/kg), used to treat Alzheimer's disease, with and without scopolamine in decreasing the hypothermic, hypokinetic, and diarrhea-inducing effects of the irreversible long-acting cholinesterase inhibitor diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP, 1.0 mg/kg) in adult Flinders sensitive line (FSL) male rats. Donepezil alone and donepezil plus scopolamine (0.1 mg/kg) to a greater extent antagonized the decrease in temperature, hypoactivity, and induction of diarrhea due to DFP observed at 4 h after its administration. However, donepezil alone induced hypothermia at 1 and 2 h after treatment. Therefore, these preliminary findings are encouraging, but many additional studies are needed to establish the effectiveness of donepezil as a prophylactic agent against irreversible cholinesterase inhibition by DFP.
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PMID:Antagonism of anticholinesterase (DFP) toxicity by donepezil plus scopolamine: a preliminary study. 1475 62

Animal studies exploring the antagonism of irreversible cholinesterase inhibitors (i.e. nerve agents) such as soman and sarin have shown that pretreatment with the reversible centrally acting cholinesterase inhibitor, physostigmine, alone or in conjunction with the centrally acting anticholinergic drug, scopolamine, antagonizes the lethality and toxicity of these agents. This study evaluated the effects of pretreatment with the oral cholinesterase inhibitor and anti-Alzheimer's agent, donepezil (Aricept) on the hypokinetic, hypothermic and diarrhea-inducing effects of the irreversible long-acting cholinesterase inhibitor, diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) in adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Donepezil (2 mg/kg), given acutely (30 min pretreatment) or chronically (10 daily treatments), significantly antagonized the hypothermia, hypoactivity and diarrhea induced by DFP (1.25 mg/kg) administration. The effects were most prominent 4 and 6 h after the injection of DFP and some protection was observed even when the last treatment of the chronic donepezil protocol was given 24 h before the DFP injection. Although these phenomena are not the same as lethality, they may be parallel phenomena, and our results may have therapeutic implications for the treatment of nerve agent toxicity.
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PMID:Anticholinesterase (DFP) toxicity antagonism by chronic donepezil: a potential nerve agent treatment. 1605 79