Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027066 (myoclonus)
 4,275 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 54-year-old man who had cerebellar ataxia and pseudobulbar palsy at the age of 29 years, and soon developed dementia, myoclonus and convulsions, died after about 20 years in a vegetative state. Histological examination of the extensively atrophic and devastated brain (680 g) revealed the almost total loss of cerebral cortical neurons associated with numerous beta-protein amyloid plaques, many extracellular tangles and a large number of hypertrophic astrocytes, and prominent amyloid angiopathy. The astrocytes were frequently immunopositive for anti-human tau antibody (anti-htau) and anti-ubiquitin antibody (anti-ubi). Double immunostaining with anti-htau and anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) antibody clearly demonstrated htau-positive domains within the GFAP-positive perikarya/and processes of several astrocytes. Electron microscopy of the hippocampal CA1, which was completely devoid of pyramidal neurons, revealed, in astrocytes, abnormal filaments indistinguishable from the paired helical filaments (PHFs) seen in neurons. On immunoelectron microscopy, the filaments were observed to be labeled with anti-htau and anti-ubi, exhibiting the same immunohistochemical features as neuronal PHFs. This is the first demonstration of clearly constricted and both tau- and ubiquitin-positive PHFs in astrocytes, indicating that, in some special conditions like in our case, processes similar to those that attack neurons also affect astrocytes and ultimately make the latter form PHFs.
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PMID:Paired helical filaments in astrocytes: electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry in a case of atypical Alzheimer's disease. 155 54

Intrahippocampal infusion of nanogram amounts of the neurotoxin kainic acid were used to investigate possible relationships between the convulsive and the local neurodegenerative properties of the amino acid. Bilateral hippocampal depth electrodes and cortical leads were employed to provide simultaneous and continuous electroencephalographic records following kainate injection in unanesthetized freely-behaving rats. In every animal, morphological analysis was performed 3-5 days after administration of kainic acid and attempts were made to correlate neuronal destruction with electroencephalographic patterns. Doses as low as 500 pg kainate led to behavioral sequelae consisting of grooming, scratching and enhanced locomotor activity. In a roughly dose-dependent fashion (range 500 gp-250 ng), these behaviors increased in frequency and at the highest doses the rats also displayed wet-dog shakes, stereotype mouth movements and occasional facial myoclonus. Apart from these automatisms, generalized motor seizures were never seen. Following kainic acid, a spectrum of electroencephalographic changes could occur consisting of one or more of the following: high voltage fast activity, slow and fast high voltage spiking, paroxysmal bursts, spindle bursts or postictal depression periods. The combination of any two of these changes were defined as an ictal episode if they occurred in all four leads simultaneously. Upon morphological examination, only the highest dose used (250 ng) resulted reliably in the degeneration of CA3, CA4 and, partly, CA1 pyramidal cells on the injected side. While the duration of electroencephalographic changes at this dose was significantly higher than at any of the lower doses, the number of seizures or the total time spent in seizures was not different at 250 ng from that at 50 ng. At the latter dose, however, only marginal cell damage could be found. Our data indicate that very low doses of kainic acid directly applied to hippocampal CA3 neurons, can elicit bilateral changes in the electroencephalogram indicative of repetitive limbic seizures which are not necessarily accompanied by neuronal degeneration. At higher doses (250 ng), kainic acid treatment results in both seizure activity and nerve cell death but the two effects appear mechanistically unrelated. While there is no clear-cut dose-response relationship between neuronal damage and seizures, extended electroencephalographic changes of a 15-30 Hz fast activity or simple spiking phenomena may be instrumental for the degenerative process. This dissociation between convulsive and neurodegenerative properties of kainic acid, however, does not argue against a role of an endogenous substance related to kainic acid in the etiology of temporal lobe seizure disorders.
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PMID:Intrahippocampal kainic acid, seizures and local neuronal degeneration: relationships assessed in unanesthetized rats. 717 85

We review the neurochemical and behavioral profile of the selective gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) uptake inhibitor, (R)-N-(4,4-di-(3-methylthien-2-yl)but-3-enyl) nipecotic acid hydrochloride [tiagabine (TGB), previously termed NNC 05-0328, NO 05-0328, and NO-328], which is currently in phase III clinical trials for epilepsy. TGB is a potent, and specific GABA uptake inhibitor. TGB lacks significant affinity for other neurotransmitter receptor binding sites and/or uptake sites. In electrophysiological experiments in hippocampal slices in culture, TGB prolonged the inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSP) and inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSC) in the CA1 and CA3 produced by the addition of exogenous GABA. In vivo microdialysis shows that TGB also increases extracellular GABA overflow in a dose-dependent manner. Together these biochemical data suggest that the in vitro and in vivo mechanism of action of TGB is to inhibit GABA uptake specifically, resulting in an increase in GABAergic mediated inhibition in the brain. TGB is a potent anticonvulsant agent against methyl-6,7-dimethyoxy-4-ethyl-B-carboline-3-carboxylate (DMCM)-induced clonic convulsions (mice), subcutaneous pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced tonic convulsions (mice and rats), sound-induced convulsions in DBA/2 mice and genetically epilepsy-prone rats (GEPR), and electrically induced convulsions in kindled rats. TGB is partially efficacious, against subcutaneous PTZ-induced clonic convulsions, and photically induced myoclonus in Papio papio. TGB is weakly efficacious in the intravenous PTZ seizure threshold test and the maximal electroshock seizure (MES) test and produces only partial protection against bicuculline (BIC)-induced convulsions in rats. The overall biochemical and anticonvulsant profile of TGB suggests potential utility in the treatment of chronic seizure disorders such as generalized clonic-tonic epilepsy (GTCS), photomyoclonic seizures, myoclonic petit mal epilepsy, and complex partial epilepsy.
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PMID:A review of the preclinical pharmacology of tiagabine: a potent and selective anticonvulsant GABA uptake inhibitor. 755 76

There is a distinctive pattern of hippocampal involvement in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and evidence for selective vulnerability of GABAergic neurons in experimental and human prion disease. We studied hippocampus and temporal cortex from human CJD and control autopsy brains and surgical cryptogenic temporal lobe epilepsy specimens for distribution and density of parvalbumin (PV) and calbindin-D28K (Cal) -positive neurons that are subpopulations of GABAergic neurons. Pathology was evaluated semiquantitatively in 8 regions in 23 CJD brains for severity of spongiform change, astrogliosis and pathological prion protein deposition. In CJD, pathology was severe in pre-parasubiculum and temporal cortex, and little or absent in CA1-4; PV+ neurons were severely reduced or absent in all cases, whereas Cal+ neurons were largely preserved. In controls, the density of PV+ neurons was highest in pre-parasubiculum and temporal cortex, and lowest in CA1-4. In cTLE, loss of PV+ neurons was seen only in CA1-4. The diffuse and severe loss of PV+ neurons in CJD, and the topographical correlation of tissue lesioning in CJD with density of PV+ neurons in controls suggest selective vulnerability and early loss of this subset of inhibitory neurons in CJD. This might relate to characteristic CJD symptoms such as myoclonus and the distinctive EEG pattern.
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PMID:Distribution of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in brain correlates with hippocampal and temporal cortical pathology in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. 932 55

The effects of intrahippocampal administration of a neuropeptide (TS-8F toxin) isolated from Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom have been determined on behavior, limbic seizures, and neuronal degeneration in rats. Behavioral observation showed orofacial automatism, wet dog shakes, and myoclonus. Concomitantly, the electroencephalographic record showed high-frequency and high-voltage spikes that evolved to seizure activity in the hippocampus and cortex. Seven days after TS-8F toxin microinjection, neuronal damage was observed in CA1 and CA2 pyramidal cells and in granular cells of the dentate gyrus. The results suggest that TS-8F toxin may be responsible, at least in part, by the epileptic effects observed with the crude venom. Thus, this toxin may be a useful tool in the study of some neurobiological process.
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PMID:Behavioral, electroencephalographic, and histopathologic effects of a neuropeptide isolated from Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom in rats. 961 Sep 17

Mongolian gerbils are epilepsy-prone animals. In adult gerbils two major groups can be differentiated according to their seizure behavior: Highly seizure-sensitive gerbils exhibit facial and forelimb clonus or generalized tonic-clonic seizures from the first test on, while kindled-like gerbils are seizure free for the first three to six consecutive tests, later develop forelimb myoclonus, and eventually progress to generalized tonic-clonic seizures. In the hippocampus, seizure history of the individual animal is mirrored in the intensity in which GABAergic neurons are immunostained for the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin: they lose parvalbumin with increasing seizure incidence. In a first step to clarify the influence of hippocampal projection neurons on spontaneous seizure behavior and related parvalbumin expression, we induced degeneration of the CA1 pyramidal cells by transient forebrain ischemia. This results in a decreased seizure sensitivity in highly seizure-sensitive gerbils. The kindling-like process, however, is not permanently blocked by the ischemic nerve cell loss, suggesting that an intact CA1 field is not a prerequisite for the development of seizure behavior. The seizure-induced loss of parvalbumin from the ischemia-resistant interneurons recovers after ischemia. Thus, changes in parvalbumin content brought about by repeated seizures are not permanent but can rather be modulated by novel stimuli.
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PMID:Ischemia-induced degeneration of CA1 pyramidal cells decreases seizure severity in a subgroup of epileptic gerbils and affects parvalbumin immunoreactivity of CA1 interneurons. 1125 24

On the basis of the previous evidence that 65Zn concentrations in the brain of EL (epilepsy) mice was affected by induction of seizures, 65Zn movement in the brain was quantitatively evaluated in ddY mice treated with kainate. Six days after intravenous injection of 65ZnCl2, mice were intraperitoneally injected with kainate (10 mg/kg x 6 times in 2 weeks). Myoclonic jerks were observed during treatment with kainate. Twenty days after 65Zn injection, 65Zn distribution in the brain was compared between the kainite-treated and control mice. 65Zn distribution in the brain of the kainate-treated mice was overall lower than in the control mice. 65Zn concentration was significantly decreased in the frontal cortex, hippocampal CA1, thalamus and hypothalamus by treatment with kainate. These results demonstrate that kainate-induced seizures are linked to decreased zinc concentrations in the brain.
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PMID:Elimination of zinc-65 from the brain under kainate-induced seizures. 1508 41

Synaptic plasticity, the cellular correlate for learning and memory, involves signaling cascades in the dendritic spine. Extensive studies have shown that long-term potentiation (LTP) of the excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) through glutamate receptors is induced by activation of N-methyl-D-asparate receptor (NMDA-R)--the coincidence detector--and Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). Here we report that the same signaling pathway in the postsynaptic CA1 pyramidal neuron also causes LTP of the slow inhibitory postsynaptic current (sIPSC) mediated by metabotropic GABA(B) receptors (GABA(B)-Rs) and G protein-activated inwardly rectifying K(+) (GIRK) channels, both residing in dendritic spines as well as shafts. Indicative of intriguing differences in the regulatory mechanisms for excitatory and inhibitory synaptic plasticity, LTP of sIPSC but not EPSC was abolished in mice lacking Nova-2, a neuronal-specific RNA binding protein that is an autoimmune target in paraneoplastic opsoclonus myoclonus ataxia (POMA) patients with latent cancer, reduced inhibitory control of movements, and dementia.
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PMID:Common molecular pathways mediate long-term potentiation of synaptic excitation and slow synaptic inhibition. 1621 16

Cardiac arrest-induced cerebral hypoxic injury could induce posthypoxic movement disorders. Here we investigated the effects of memantine, an NMDA receptor channel blocker, on the neurodegeneration occurred in an established rat model of posthypoxic myoclonus. We found that administration of memantine for 7 days significantly reduced cerebral hypoxia-induced neurodegeneration in the CA1 of the hippocampus, the reticular thalamic nucleus (RTN) and the primary fissure of the cerebellum of the posthypoxic animals. The results suggest that the neurodegeneration observed in specific areas of the brain of the posthypoxic rats is contributed by NMDA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity.
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PMID:NMDA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity contributes to the cerebral hypoxic injury of a rat model of posthypoxic myoclonus. 1719 60

Individuals with familial Parkinson's disease (PD) due to a monogenic defect can show considerable clinical and neuropathological variability. To identify factors underlying this variability, histopathological analysis was performed in two clinically different A53T alpha-synuclein heterozygotes from Family H, a multigenerational alpha-synuclein A53T kindred. To determine whether additional genetic factors could contribute to phenotypic variability, Family H and another multigenerational A53T kindred were analyzed for parkin polymorphisms. We identified a previously described variant in parkin exon 4 associated with increased PD risk (S167N). The two A53T heterozygotes had markedly different neuropathology and different parkin genotypes: A N167 homozygote had early onset rapidly progressive disease, early dementia, myoclonus and sleep disorder, while a S167 homozygote had late onset, slowly progressive disease and late dementia. Both had brainstem, cortical, and intraneuritic Lewy bodies (LB). The N167 individual had widespread cortical neurofibrillary degeneration, while the S167 individual had only medial temporal lobe neurofibrillary degeneration. The N167 individual had severe neuronal loss in CA2 associated with Lewy neurites (LN), while the S167 individual had severe neuronal loss in CA1 associated with TDP-43 immunoreactive neuronal inclusions. These findings implicate TDP-43 in the pathology of familial PD and suggest that parkin may act as a modifier of the A53T alpha-synuclein phenotype of familial PD. Furthermore, they suggest a mechanism by which a rare genetic variant that is associated with a minor increase of PD risk in the heterozygous state may, in the homozygous state, exacerbate a disease phenotype associated with a highly penetrant dominant allele.
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PMID:Clinical, neuropathological and genotypic variability in SNCA A53T familial Parkinson's disease. Variability in familial Parkinson's disease. 1838 63


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