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

Differential effects of neuropharmacological drugs upon susceptibility to flurothyl-induced myoclonic and clonic convulsions were assessed in two selectively bred lines of mice. Dopaminergic drugs (apomorphine and haloperidol) only affected myoclonus, whereas cholinergic (pilocarpine and scopolamine), gabaergic (AOAA and bicuculline), and serotonergic (PCPA) compounds principally influenced clonus. Noradrenergic drugs (clonidine, phentolamine and sotalol), however, altered the expression of both types of seizures. The apparent differential neurohumoral modulation of myoclonus and clonus is discussed in light of previous suggestions that these behaviors have separate neural substrates.
 ...
PMID:Differential neurohumoral modulation of myoclonic and clonic seizures. 3 68

1. Three different cortical areas were found with respect to the development, by repeated electrical stimulation, of electrographic and motor seizures in rats. Paleocortical areas responded similarly to subcorticallimbic structures. Initial after-discharges (ADs) were accompanied by little or no behavioral response. With spaced reptition ADs became longer, propagated more strongly, and were eventually accompanied by a convulsive response in which the dominant components were forelimb clonus and rearing. Anterior neocortical placements, on the other hand, yielded convulsive responses from the first AD. These convulsive responses became stronger with repeated stimulation until a mild form of extension was triggered. ADs remained relatively short. Posterior neocortical areas showed electrographic developments very similar to those found in anterior neocortical areas but convulsive responses never developed. 2. All areas tested showed similar reductions in AD thresholds when repeatedly stimulated. Initial thresholds were lower in paleocortical than in neocortical areas. 3. Motor seizures developed more rapidly with stimulation of contralateral homologous sites after seizures had been developed in the primary (initially stimulated) focus. AD thresholds, on the other hand, were not significantly affected in contralateral sites after being lowered in primary sites.
 ...
PMID:Modification of seizure activity by electrical stimulation: cortical areas. 4 98

The mechanisms of the anticonvulsant activity of cannabidiol (CBD) and the central excitation of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 9-THC) were investigated electrophysiologically with conscious, unrestrained cobalt epileptic rats. The well-known antiepileptics, trimethadione (TMO), ethosuximide (ESM), and phenytoin (PHT), were included as reference drugs. Direct measurements were made of spontaneously firing, epileptic potentials from a primary focus on the parietal cortex and convulsions were monitored visually. ESM and TMO decreased the frequency of focal potentials, but PHT and CBD exerted no such effect. Although CBD did not suppress the focal abnormality, it did abolish jaw and limb clonus; in contrast, delta 9-THC markedly increased the frequency of focal potentials, evoked generalized bursts of polyspikes, and produced frank convlusions. 11-OH-delta 9-THC, the major metabolite of delta 9-THC, displayed only one of the excitatory properties of the parent compound: production of bursts of polyspikes. In contrast to delta 9-THC and its 11-OH metabolite, CBD, even in very high doses, did not induce any excitatory effects or convulsions. The present study provides the first evidence that CBD exerts anticonvulsant activity against the motor manifestations of a focal epilepsy, and that the mechanism of the effect may involve a depression of seizure generation or spread in the CNS.
 ...
PMID:The influence of cannabidiol and delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol on cobalt epilepsy in rats. 11 6

The effects of four neural excitants (damphetamine, cocaine, nicotine, and strychnine) on myoclonic and clonic seizure susceptibility were investigated in two age groups (30 and 120 days) of short-sleep mice. Amphetamine and cocaine decreased susceptibility to myoclonus in young mice and increased susceptibility in mature mice. These effects were attenuated by pretreatment with haloperidol, indicating mediation by a dopaminergic system. Amphetamine did not alter clonic susceptibility in either age group of mice, whereas cocaine affected clonic susceptibility and myoclonus. These effects were not attenuated by haloperidol, indicating mediation by systems other than dopamine. Nicotine decreased susceptibility to myoclonus and increased susceptibility to clonus, whereas strychnine increased susceptibility to both types of seizure. Haloperidol, however, failed to alter any of these effects. These results are consistent with our previous work which suggests that a dopaminergic mechanism in these mice undergoes marked developmental changes between 30 and 120 days of age.
 ...
PMID:Maturational changes related to dopamine in the effects of d-amphetamine, cocaine, nicotine, and strychnine on seizure susceptibility. 11 67

Experimental seizures were induced in mice by application of 50 mA for 0.2 sec via corneal electrodes. The reproducible conclusive behavior was characterized by a sequence of 2 sec of tonic flexion, 13 sec of tonic extension, and 8 sec of clonus followed by a postictal depressive stage. The animals were frozen and tissues were prepared for analysis according to Lowry and Passonneau [Lowry, O. H. & Passonneau, J. V. (1972) A Flexible System of Enzymatic Analysis (Academic, New York)]. Freeze-dried samples (1-10 ng) of pyramidal cell bodies and adjacent neuropil from the parietal cortex and of Purkinje cell bodies and adjacent neuropil from the cerebellum were analyzed for glucose, ATP, and P-creatine (0.01-0.05 pmol). There were marked decreases in these energy stores after the maximal electroshock in three of the areas examined. In the Purkinje cell bodies, however, the metabolic stress was dampened; glucose concentrations decreased, but the levels of ATP were maintained and, to a lesser extent, those of P-creatine. The results indicate that the output from the Purkinje cells is less than in the other regions examined in the excitable stages of the convulsion. The lesser energy debt probably reflects lower energy demand as well as a lower discharge intensity. The fact that Purkinje cells are spared from the metabolic stress imposed on other regions may be a partial explanation of the seizure activity. A diminished output from the Purkinje cells could be a situation that permits cortical convulsive activity.
 ...
PMID:Sparing of metabolic stress in Purkinje cells after maximal electroshock. 28 34

Dantrolene sodium or dantrolene1 is 1([5-(nitrophenyl)furfurylidend] amino) hydantoin sodium hydrate. It is indicated for use in chronic disorders characterised by skeletal muscle spasticity, such as spinal cord injury, stroke, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. Dantrolene is believed to act directly on the contractile mechanism of skeletal muscle to decrease the force of contraction in the absence of any demonstrated effects on neural pathways, on the neuromuscular junction, or on the excitable properties of the muscle fibre membranes. Controlled trials have demonstrated that dantrolene is superior to placebo in adults or children with spasticity from various causes, as evidenced by clinical assessments of disability and daily activities, and by muscle and reflex responses to mechanical and electrical stimulation. It is somewhat less effective in patients with multiple sclerosis than in those with spasticity from other causes. There has been a general clinical impression in controlled trials that dantrolene caused less sedation than would have been expected from therapeutically comparable doses of diazepam. In 2 controlled trials, there was no significant difference between dantrolene and diazepam in terms of reductions in spasticity, clonus, and hyperreflexia, but side-effects such as drowsiness and inco-ordination occurred significantly more frequently on diazepam. Long-term studies have indicated continuing benefit for patients taking dantrolene, though the incidence of side-effects has often been high and there has been a suggestion of exacerbation of seizures in children with cerebral palsy. Dantrolene may be of value in the medical treatment of spasm of the external urethral sphincter due to neurological and non-neurological disease, and animal studies suggest a potential use in the management of malignant hyperpyrexia. Chemical evidence of liver dysfunction may occur in 0.7 to 1% of patients on long-term treatment with dantrolene, with symptomatic hepatitis in 0.35 to 0.5% and fatal hepatitis in 0.1 to 0.2%. The drug commonly causes transient drowsiness, dizziness, weakness, general malaise, fatigue and diarrhoea at the start of therapy. Muscle weakness may be the principal limiting side-effect in ambulant patients, particularly in those with multiple sclerosis, and therapy could be hazardous in patients with pre-existing bulbar or respiratory weakness. The dosage of dantrolene has been fixed in most controlled trials, though long-term studies have indicated the need for individualisation of dosage. The initial dose is usually 25mg once daily, increasing to 25mg two, three or four times daily, and then by increments of 25mg up to as high as 100mg two, three or four times daily. The lowest dose compatible with optimal response is recommended.
 ...
PMID:Dantrolene sodium: a review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic efficacy in spasticity. 31 89

In a series of 53 fenfluramine intoxications (15 taken from the literature), 10 were lethal after doses of 28.7--70 mg/kg of body weight. Cardiac arrest occurred 1--4 hr after ingestion in 9 cases; all these 9 patients died. Two out of 3 patients with more than 15 mg/kg had coma and convulsions. Other frequent signs were mydriasis, tachycardia, and rubor of the face. The additional signs of nystagmus, hypertonia, trismus, hyperreflexia, clonus, excitation, hyperthermia, and sweating define the clinical syndrome of fenfluramine intoxication. Symptoms begin 30--60 min after ingestion and can persist during several days. Early gastric lavage, instillation of activated charcoal, diazepam in case of seizures, chlorpromazine for malignant hyperthermia, propranolol for extreme tachycardia, and lidocaine in the event of ventricular extrasystoles are recommended. If trismus is a prominent sign, muscle relaxants must be given before gastric lavage can be done. The relatively benign course after survival of the first 4 hr suggests supportive therapy only in the later phase of intoxication.
 ...
PMID:Fenfluramine poisoning. 43 87

Injection of endothelin-1 (9 pmol) into the lateral cerebral ventricle of rats produced barrel-rotations, convulsions, tonic hindlimb extensions, facial clonus, and kinetic ataxia for up to 45 min. Quantitative metabolic autoradiographs produced from the [14C]deoxyglucose method and analyzed over 60 individual brain structures or subregions revealed intense hypermetabolism in periventricular tissues close to the injection site and in many of their efferent projection sites. Histological examination of these areas proved that this dose of endothelin was without toxic or ischemic effects on neurons or glial cells. Structures metabolically affected ipsilateral to injection were caudate nucleus (+164%), lateral septal nucleus (+270%), and two white matter tracts--corpus callosum (+236%) and hippocampal fimbria (+318%). Distant stimulated structures included cerebellar cortical layers, but not cerebellar nuclei or white matter. Increased rates of glucose metabolism among many other nuclei, particularly distinct subunits of the hippocampal formation and structures in contact with the ventricular system, signify that endothelin induced widespread metabolic stimulation over much of the neuraxis. Furthermore, although the 9 pmol concentration of endothelin produced convulsive movements and diverse metabolic stimulation, it did not evoke detectable electroencephalographic seizure activity assessed by intra- or extracerebral electroencephalography. Both the convulsions and hypermetabolic activation were inhibited by intraventricular pretreatment with the dihydropyridine calcium-channel antagonist, nimodipine. The results identify endothelin-1 as a calcium-mediated 'convulsive' peptide with selective stimulatory effects on cerebral glucose metabolism.
 ...
PMID:Cerebral hypermetabolism produced by intraventricular endothelin-1 in rats: inhibition by nimodipine. 132 10

Convulsive seizures in animal models usually involve one or more of the following components: (1) limbic motor seizures, (2) explosive running-bouncing clonic seizures, and (3) tonic extensor seizures. Each of these components depends on specific and experimentally separable anatomic substrates. Limbic motor seizures depend on forebrain structures for their initiation and propagation, with the prepiriform, piriform, and entorhinal cortices playing a prominent role in conjunction with hippocampus, amygdala, substantia innominata, and mediodorsal thalamus. In contrast, seizures involving running-bouncing clonus or tonic extension depend on neural substrates in the brainstem and do not appear to require the integrity of the forebrain for their development or expression. The inferior colliculus is a region from which running-bouncing seizures can be elicited by chemical or electrical stimulation. Tonic extensor seizures depend on the integrity of the nucleus reticularis pontis oralis, but a specific locus responsible for triggering these seizures has yet to be identified. Under conditions of chronic or repeated seizure activity over prolonged time periods, seizures evoked from the hindbrain can recruit forebrain circuits; conversely, repeated stimulation of forebrain limbic circuits (e.g., kindling) can modify susceptibility to brainstem convulsions. These long-term alterations may result from changes in the activity of seizure "gating" pathways, which are circuits that influence seizure susceptibility by modulating the threshold for the initiation and/or propagation of the seizures. In general, these pathways are not part of any core seizure propagation pathway per se. In many cases, the gating substrates are relatively nonselective as to the type of seizure they can influence. In this category, the substantia nigra and its related circuits within the basal ganglia serve a prominent role. In addition, ascending noradrenergic projections have been implicated in the regulation of seizure threshold. Other gating mechanisms involve thalamic circuitry and pathways originating in cerebellum.
 ...
PMID:Subcortical structures and pathways involved in convulsive seizure generation. 135 May 93

A behavioural study of the domoic acid (DOM)-induced convulsive behaviour after intracerebroventricular administration was carried out in rats and mice. DOM-induced behaviours were compared to those elicited by other excitatory amino acid (EAA) agonists N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), alpha-amino-3- hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) and kainic acid (KA), in such a way as to assess the possible similarities between DOM-induced effects and EAA subtype receptor activation in vivo. In rat, DOM (0.03-3 nmol/rat) caused a complex pattern of convulsive behaviour, quantified by means of a 15-point rating scale. DOM-induced behavioural profile was characterized at the lower doses by "preconvulsive" behaviours as wet dog shakes, hypermotility, mild facial clonus. At higher doses, DOM caused clonic convulsions followed by the "status epilepticus" syndrome (wet dog shakes, forelimb clonus, rearing, salivation). Rats treated with KA (0.3-10 nmol/rat) showed an almost identical behavioural profile. AMPA (1-10 nmol/rat)-induced convulsive behaviour was similar to DOM and KA only at the higher doses. NMDA (0.25-10 nmol/rat) caused clonic convulsions but not "status epilepticus". In mice, similar results were obtained: all the tested drugs induced generalized seizures, but only animals treated with DOM, KA and AMPA showed a prolonged sequence of seizures with forelimb clonus. Our results confirm the findings reported in the literature and support the hypothesis that DOM and KA act at the same EAA receptor.
 ...
PMID:Domoic acid toxicity in rats and mice after intracerebroventricular administration: comparison with excitatory amino acid agonists. 138 Jul 8


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>