Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0036572 (seizures)
 80,221 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Designer drugs, chemically altered compounds derived from federally controlled substances, have become a major cause of addiction and overdose deaths. These drugs include mescaline analogs, synthetic opioids, arylhexylamines, methaqualone derivatives and crack, a new form of cocaine. Sudden changes in mood, weight loss, depression, disturbed sleep patterns, deteriorating school or work performance, marital problems, and loss of interest in friends and social activities may be signs of drug addiction. Life-threatening complications of acute intoxication, such as hyperthermia, seizures, combative and psychotic behavior, and cardiorespiratory collapse, require prompt diagnosis and supportive intervention.
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PMID:Substance abuse: the designer drugs. 202 Nov 4

Maternal drug addiction has increased in an alarming way over the last ten years. Therefore, the withdrawal syndrome in the newborn has also increased. 53% of the newborns (of chemical dependent mother) studied from 1985 to 1989 in HCP have presented this syndrome. We have analysed: perinatal, neonatal and maternal factors, and their clinical features and treatment: There is a great incidence of perinatal asphyxia, acidosis, premature rupture of the fetal membranes, etc. The newborns are usually premature or of low birth weight for their gestational age. They present diverse pathology: syphilis, HBsAg +, HIV +, gonorrhea, congenital malformations, etc. The mothers are often prostitutes, belong to a low socioeconomic status, have had previous abortions and have had no control of the actual pregnancy, etc. The syndrome of abstinence presents with: jitteriness, sweating, high-pitched or continuous crying, vomits, diarrhea, and even seizures. The neurological and digestive manifestations are the most difficult to treat. The treatment consists of general measures (little stimulation dim light, etc.), phenobarbital, and chlorpromazine.
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PMID:[Newborn infant of drug-addicted mother: maternal, perinatal, neonatal aspects, and neonatal abstinence syndrome]. 204 4

An elderly female alcohol and benzodiazepine addict presented with an atypical amnestic episode. Five days later she showed several complex partial seizures as main signs of a withdrawal state. The value of the EEG in the differential diagnosis of amnestic syndromes is emphasized. Temporolimbic involvement in withdrawal states is discussed and our ignorance regarding drug dependence and withdrawal in the elderly is stressed. It is suggested that late-onset partial seizures with unknown etiology in the elderly might be more often related to drug dependence than generally accepted.
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PMID:Are complex partial seizures an uncommon withdrawal sign in the elderly? 367 89

The benzodiazepine--gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor--ionophore system is an oligomeric complex, composed of at least three interacting components. These three components have been well characterized in vitro by radioreceptor binding assays. A variety of centrally acting anxiolytic, depressant, anticonvulsant and convulsant drugs, which affect GABAergic transmission, bind to one of the sites and modulate the binding of ligands at the other sites. Thus, depressant barbiturates, nonbarbiturate hypnotics (like etomidate) and pyrazolopyridines (like etazolate), while inhibiting the binding of alpha-dihydropicrotoxinin (DHP), enhance the binding of GABA and benzodiazepines. These enhancing effects are blocked by convulsant drugs that inhibit the binding of dihydropicrotoxinin and also by bicuculline. These interactions involving barbiturates and other modulatory drugs, exhibit stereoselectivity, anion dependence and brain regional selectivity. Several classes of drugs which facilitate GABAergic transmission appear to interact with the sites for GABA and benzodiazepines allosterically via the dihydropicrotoxinin site of the oligomeric complex. The GABA system has also been implicated in a variety of pathological conditions, including anxiety, seizure activity, movement disorders, cardiovascular control, pain and in drug dependence. Since most of the GABA agonists do not pass the blood-brain barrier, future trends in the pharmacology of GABA may be the development of drugs that will activate the GABA receptor system via picrotoxinin or benzodiazepine sites.
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PMID:Benzodiazepine-GABA receptor-ionophore complex. Current concepts. 632 40

The mounting problems of drug addiction now also confront the obstetrician and pediatrician. 1/3 of the 60,000 addicts to opiates in the Federal Republic of Germany are women. Of these 80% are in the reproductive age group. Despite endocrine problems pregnancies do occur and are high risk pregnancies because of hepatitis, venereal disease, malnutrition, phlebitis, abscesses, premature deliveries, premature rupture of the membranes, malpresentations, dysmaturity, pre-eclampsia, and numerous other social and psychological problems. Because of the varying content of heroin on the black market the fetus runs the risk of acute overdose or withdrawal. Withdrawal results in extremely marked fetal movements, with increased oxygen consumption and a danger of intra-uterine asphyxia sometimes resulting in intra-uterine fetal death. Most newborns develop a withdrawal syndrome with irritability, high pitched cries, shivering, tachycardia, perspirations, fever and generalized seizures. The experience of the Department for Women for the Free University in Berlin-Charlottenburg are presented and compared to a review of the literature. The medical, social, and psychological aspects of the problem are discussed.
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PMID:[Pregnancy, labour, and puerperium in heroin addicted women, with reference to experience and the present state of knowledge (author's transl)]. 692 Nov 11

Problems of systematization of remissions of epileptic seizures and epilepsy are discussed on the basis of clinical examination of 341 epileptic patients with seizures suppressed for many years and international classifications of epilepsy. A classification, developed by the authors, is presented. It reflects stages of regress of the disease in achievement of prolonged (for years) control of seizures. The possibility of drug dependence development in these therapeutic remissions is also taken into consideration.
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PMID:[The systematization of epilepsy remissions]. 757 22

The literature was reviewed to define the role of clobazam (CLB) in the treatment of epilepsy. CLB is an effective antiepileptic drug (AED) in most varieties of seizures and epilepsies for both short-term and long-term treatment. Tolerability of CLB is satisfactory, better than for conventional benzodiazepines. CLB has no significant interaction with other drugs. Tolerance may develop, but this aspect may have been overemphasized: a long-term benefit figure of 28% can be expected without tolerance. When CLB maintains efficacy, patients continue to benefit for years without drug dependence or unwanted side effects. CLB appears to be a useful treatment for epilepsy as intermittent or short-term add-on therapy; but it should also be tried as long-term therapy in some situations, especially as add-on therapy for patients with refractory epilepsy, as add-on or monotherapy for patients with anxiety, or in some women in association with oral contraceptives.
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PMID:Clobazam in the treatment of epilepsy: a review of the literature. 803 79

Psychomotor stimulants possess intrinsic reinforcing properties that may lead to dependence and abuse. Epidemics of stimulant abuse have occurred historically in cycles related to introduction of new stimulants or new routes of administration. The actions and toxic effects of stimulants are related primarily to interaction with the central and peripheral SNS. The most common complications of stimulant use that result in visits to emergency rooms and hospital admissions are referrable to psychiatric, cardiopulmonary, and neurologic symptoms. Neurologic complications most commonly include seizure and stroke, but relative to the prevalence of stimulant abuse in most cities, the incidence of stroke and seizures is small. Cocaine-associated stroke can be linked to underlying abnormalities of the cerebrovascular system in almost one half of the cases. Other complications such as sudden death, movement disorders, and infection are rare. With repeated use of stimulants, a state of drug dependence develops for which there is at present inadequate treatment. As a consequence, pharmacotherapeutic strategies for treatment of dependence are being explored.
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PMID:Psychostimulants. 810 14

The freely diffusible gaseous compound nitric oxide (NO) has recently been discovered to be an important cellular messenger in many organ systems throughout the body. The importance of NO as an intermediary in cell communication in the brain is highlighted by the fact that the excitatory amino acid glutamate, the most abundant central neurotransmitter, is an initiator of the reaction that forms NO. In this article, background information about the discovery of NO, its biochemistry, and a brief summary of some of its peripheral and central actions are given to provide a complete picture of this remarkable novel second messenger. We also discuss how an improved understanding of NO pathway may lead to the identification of novel medications for the treatment of a number of neuropsychiatric conditions, including memory deficits, pain, drug addiction, seizures, bipolar disorder, psychosis, eating disorders, and the treatment of the sequelae of various brain injuries.
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PMID:The nitric oxide pathway: potential implications for treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. 868 10

This article reviews findings up to the end of 1997 about the inducible transcription factors (ITFs) c-Jun, JunB, JunD, c-Fos, FosB, Fra-1, Fra-2, Krox-20 (Egr-2) and Krox-24 (NGFI-A, Egr-1, Zif268); and the constitutive transcription factors (CTFs) CREB, CREM, ATF-2 and SRF as they pertain to gene expression in the mammalian nervous system. In the first part we consider basic facts about the expression and activity of these transcription factors: the organization of the encoding genes and their promoters, the second messenger cascades converging on their regulatory promoter sites, the control of their transcription, the binding to dimeric partners and to specific DNA sequences, their trans-activation potential, and their posttranslational modifications. In the second part we describe the expression and possible roles of these transcription factors in neural tissue: in the quiescent brain, during pre- and postnatal development, following sensory stimulation, nerve transection (axotomy), neurodegeneration and apoptosis, hypoxia-ischemia, generalized and limbic seizures, long-term potentiation and learning, drug dependence and withdrawal, and following stimulation by neurotransmitters, hormones and neurotrophins. We also describe their expression and possible roles in glial cells. Finally, we discuss the relevance of their expression for nervous system functioning under normal and patho-physiological conditions.
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PMID:Inducible and constitutive transcription factors in the mammalian nervous system: control of gene expression by Jun, Fos and Krox, and CREB/ATF proteins. 985 69


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