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)

Two Senegalese baboons (Papio papio) were subjected to daily electrical stimulation at the SMA. When compared with the results of kindling at different frontal cortical sites, ADT and GST at the SMA were lower than those at other sites. On the other hand, the number of stimulations required for Stage 4 asymmetrical generalization was much greater at the SMA (mean of 78.0) than that for the PMA (22.5). These findings suggest that partial seizure originating from the PMA rather than the SMA seems to have a better access to the mechanisms underlying secondarily generalized convulsive seizure despite exquisite susceptibility to AD generation at the latter.
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PMID:Supplementary motor area kindling in the photosensitive baboons. 262 2

Some six or so physiological systems, essential to normal mammalian life, are involved in poisoning; an intoxication that causes severe injury to any one of them could be life threatening. Reversible chemical reactions showing Scatchard-type binding are exemplified by CO, CN- and cyclodiene neurotoxin insecticide intoxications, and by antigen-antibody complex formation. Haemoglobin (Hb) molecular biology accounts for the allosteric co-operativity and other characteristics of CO poisoning, CN- acts as a powerful cytochrome oxidase inhibitor, and antigen binding in a deep antibody cleft between two domains equipped with epitopes for antigen-binding groups explains hapten-specific immune reactions. Covalent chemical reactions with second-order (SN2) kinetics characterize Hg and Cd poisonings, the reactions of organophosphates and phosphonates with acetylcholinesterase and neurotoxic esterase and the reaction sequence whereby Paraquat accepts electrons and generates superoxide under aerobic conditions. Indirect carcinogens require cytochrome P450 activation to form DNA adducts in target-organ DNA and cause cancer, but a battery of detoxifying enzymes clustered with the P450 system must be overcome. Thus, S-metabolism competes ineffectively with target DNA for reactive vinyl chloride (VC) metabolites, epoxide hydrolase is important to the metabolism and carcinogenicity of alfatoxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (benzo[a]pyrene, etc.), and the non-toxic 2-naphthylhydroxylamine N-glucuronide acts as a transport form in 2-naphthylamine bladder cancer. VC liver-cancer pathogenesis is explicable in terms of the presence of the glutathione S-transferase detoxifying system in hepatocytes and its absence from the fibroblastic elements, and of the VC concentrations reaching the liver by different administrative routes. In VC carcinogenicity, chemical reactions give imidazo-cyclization products with nucleoside residues of target DNA, and in benzene leukaemia, Z,Z-muconaldehyde forms cyclic products containing a pyrrole residue linked to purine. Increased HbCO concentrations reduce the O2-carrying capacity of the blood, and the changed shape of the O2-Hb dissociation curve parallels disturbance in O2 unloading. CN- acts on electron transport and paralyses respiration. In telodrin poisoning, preconvulsive glutamine formation abstracts tricarboxylic acid intermediates incommensurately with normal cerebral respiration. Antigen-antibody complexing depletes the antibody titre, available against infection. At high doses of Cd, Cd-thionein filtered through the kidneys is reabsorbed and tubular lesions produced. Some organophosphate insecticides promote irreversible acetylcholinesterase phosphorylation and blockade nerve function, and others react with neurotoxic esterase to cause delayed neuropathy. The evidence for Paraquat pulmonary poisoning suggests a radical mechanism involving three interrelated cyclic reaction stages. The action of N- and O8 (O substituent in 6-position of the purine) demethylases explains deletion mechanisms for DNA-alkyl adducts. DNA-directed synthesis in the presence of ultimate carcinogens provides for an estimation of misincorporations, which implicate the same transversions as those found by direct mutagenicity testing. Chemical carcinogens recognize tissue-sensitive cells and modify their heritable genetic complement. Oncoproteins encoded by activated oncogenes signal the transformation of normal cells into cancer cells. The importance of the H-ras oncogene and p53 tumour-suppressor gene is stressed. Antidotal action is analysed; for example, parenteral glutamine administration to telodrin-intoxicated rats restores the depleted cerebral glutamate level and prevents seizures. Glutamate acts as anticonvulsant in petit mal epilepsy. In general, therefore, the reaction of the toxicant-related substance with the relevant target-tissue macromolecule accounts for the biochemical/biological events at a cellular level a
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PMID:Toxic action/toxicity. 1074 Aug 94

We evaluated the anticonvulsant efficacy of the new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) gabapentin and levetiracetam in amygdala kindled rats that had been preselected with respect to their response to phenytoin. Anticonvulsant response was tested by determining the afterdischarge threshold (ADT), i.e. a sensitive measure for drug effects on focal seizure activity. By repeated testing with the phenytoin prodrug fosphenytoin, three groups of kindled rats were separated: rats in which consistent anticonvulsant effects were obtained (phenytoin responders), rats which showed no anticonvulsant response (phenytoin nonresponders), and rats with variable responses (variable phenytoin responders). The latter, largest group was used to evaluate at which doses gabapentin and levetiracetam exerted significant anticonvulsant effects on ADT 1 h after i.p. drug administration. Effective doses were then used for drug testing in phenytoin responders and nonresponders. Both gabapentin and levetiracetam proved to be effective anticonvulsant drugs in the kindling model by significantly increasing the ADT. In addition, both drugs markedly decreased seizure severity recorded at ADT currents, indicating that these drugs affect seizure threshold in the epileptic focus and seizure spread from the focus in the kindling model. When the threshold for secondary generalized seizures (GST) was determined in addition to ADT, gabapentin and levetiracetam strikingly increased this threshold compared to predrug control. In phenytoin nonresponders, gabapentin and levetiracetam significantly increased ADT and GST, which is in line with their proven efficacy in patients with refractory partial epilepsy in whom older AEDs have failed. In phenytoin responders, gabapentin tended to be more efficacious in increasing ADT and GST than in nonresponders, substantiating that the difference between these groups of kindled rats extends to other AEDs. In contrast to gabapentin, levetiracetam was more efficacious in increasing ADT in nonresponders than in responders. The data of this study substantiate that phenytoin nonresponders are a unique model for the search of new AEDs with improved efficacy in refractory partial epilepsy.
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PMID:Anticonvulsant efficacy of gabapentin and levetiracetam in phenytoin-resistant kindled rats. 1077 Dec 59

At present, only a little is known about the transcriptional regulation in chondrocytes submitted to various physicomechanical factors known to exist in articular cartilage. Recently, we have investigated the effects of hydrostatic pressure on transcriptional control in chondrocytes using human chondrosarcoma and immortalized chondrocyte cell lines for the experiments. Hydrostatic pressure was applied on the cells in a special computer-controlled, water-filled pressure chamber, where cyclic and static pressures up to 32 MPa can be created. Differential display RT-PCR and probing of cDNA arrays are the methods we have used to study differential gene expression due to hydrostatic pressure. By differential display RT-PCR experiments, we have observed several differentially expressed cDNA bands under continuous 30 MPa hydrostatic pressure, while 30 MPa cyclic pressure at 1 Hz produced much fewer changes. In the first phase of our studies, we have focused on the effects of 30 MPa hydrostatic pressure because it causes a unique hsp70-mediated stress response in immortalized chondrocytes. Differential display RT-PCR screening provided us with several clones that derive from low-abundance mRNAs, such as death-associated protein 3 (DAP3), a nucleotide-binding protein which increases due to interferon-gamma induced cell death; PTZ-17 (or p311), a seizure-related protein; H-NUC, a nuclear DNA binding protein; and one new gene of unknown function. In Northern blots, an induction was confirmed for the new gene, DAP3 and PTZ-17 were down-regulated in some but not in all parallel experiments; however, basal level of H-NUC mRNA was too low to be detected in Northern blots. We then chose to widen our screening to a number of known genes arrayed as cDNA blots. Under 30 MPa continuous hydrostatic pressure, four different time points were chosen (0, 3, 6 and 24 h) for the experiments. The screening of 588 cDNAs showed 15 up-regulated and 6 down-regulated genes. Consistently with our previous results hsp70 was highly induced, as well as hsp40, a chaperone protein functioning together with hsp70. Gadd45 and to a lesser extent Gadd153 (stress genes induced by, e.g., ionizing radiation and ischaemia) were up-regulated, as well as p21waf1,cip1, a protein participating in cell cycle regulation that can interact with Gadd45. Northern blots confirmed Gadd45 induction. Down-regulated transcripts included, e.g., DAD-1, glutathione S-transferase pI, DNA-binding inhibitor ID-1H, and cytoplasmic dynein light chain.
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PMID:Transcriptional activation in chondrocytes submitted to hydrostatic pressure. 1091 81

Null genotype of glutathione S-transferase class me (GSTM1(-)) and the plasma level of malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined in normal subjects, epileptics with good seizure control and epileptics with intractable seizure. The frequency of GSTM1(-) of the epileptics with intractable seizure was significantly higher than that of the group with good seizure control and that of the normal subjects. The average plasma level of MDA of the patients with GSTM1(-) genotype was higher than that of the subjects with GSTM1(+) in either the normal or epileptic group. Thus, the GSTM1(-) genotype may be one of the genetic factors involved in the response to anticonvulsant therapy.
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PMID:Enhanced lipid peroxidation in epileptics with null genotype of glutathione S-transferase M1 and intractable seizure. 1249 85

Clinical observations suggest that certain gut and dietary factors may transiently worsen symptoms in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), epilepsy and some inheritable metabolic disorders. Propionic acid (PPA) is a short chain fatty acid and an important intermediate of cellular metabolism. PPA is also a by-product of a subpopulation of human gut enterobacteria and is a common food preservative. We examined the behavioural, electrophysiological, neuropathological, and biochemical effects of treatment with PPA and related compounds in adult rats. Intraventricular infusions of PPA produced reversible repetitive dystonic behaviours, hyperactivity, turning behaviour, retropulsion, caudate spiking, and the progressive development of limbic kindled seizures, suggesting that this compound has central effects. Biochemical analyses of brain homogenates from PPA treated rats showed an increase in oxidative stress markers (e.g., lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation) and glutathione S-transferase activity coupled with a decrease in glutathione and glutathione peroxidase activity. Neurohistological examinations of hippocampus and adjacent white matter (external capsule) of PPA treated rats revealed increased reactive astrogliosis (GFAP immunoreactivity) and activated microglia (CD68 immunoreactivity) suggestive of a neuroinflammatory process. This was coupled with a lack of cytotoxicity (cell counts, cleaved caspase 3' immunoreactivity), and an increase in phosphorylated CREB immunoreactivity. We propose that some types of autism may be partial forms of genetically inherited or acquired disorders involving altered PPA metabolism. Thus, intraventricular administration of PPA in rats may provide a means to model some aspects of human ASD in rats.
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PMID:Neurobiological effects of intraventricular propionic acid in rats: possible role of short chain fatty acids on the pathogenesis and characteristics of autism spectrum disorders. 1695 May 24

omega-Conotoxin MVIIA (omega-CTX MVIIA) is a reversible and potent antagonist of N-type voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs) in neurons. In this study, we evaluated the effect of a fusion form of omega-CTX MVIIA with glutathione S-transferase (GST) on amygdaloid kindled seizures. Intracerebraventricular (i.c.v.) injection of the fusion protein of GST-omega-CTX MVIIA significantly decreased seizure stage and shortened afterdischarge duration and generalized seizure duration in a dose-dependent and time-related manner. In addition, GST-omega-CTX MVIIA significantly increased the GABA levels in the cortex and glycine levels in the brainstem. In contrast, GST alone did not have any effect on seizure behavior or neurochemical levels. These findings firstly demonstrate that the N-type VDCC is a potential therapeutic target for temporal lobe epilepsy. The mechanism of the anticonvulsant function of omega-CTX MVIIA is related to the blockade of N-type VDCC-mediated neurotransmitter release in the brain.
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PMID:omega-Conotoxin MVIIA inhibits amygdaloid kindled seizures in Sprague-Dawley rats. 1720 31

Brain preconditioning refers to a wide range of treatments that induce a neuronal tolerance state where neuronal tissue become more resistant to a subsequent lethal insult. The mechanisms underlying the preconditioning-induced brain tolerance are not fully understood, but up-regulation of antioxidant enzymes activity has been suggested to play an important role. In order to test this hypothesis, evaluation of glutathione (GSH) scavenger system was carried out in mice showing the neuroprotective effect of NMDA preconditioning against quinolinic acid (QA)-induced seizures. NMDA is known to prevent seizures in 53% of the animals and completely prevent neural damage against QA. Mice were preconditioned by a non-convulsant NMDA dose (75 mg/kg, 10 ml/kg i.p.) 24 h before QA infusion (4 microl, 9.2 mM i.c.v.). GSH content and enzymatic activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) were evaluated in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus 24 h after QA infusion. NMDA preconditioning and QA infusion did not alter GSH content, GR and G6PDH activities, however, an increase in GST activity was observed in the cerebral cortex from mice. Moreover, NMDA pretreatment was able to prevent the QA-induced decrease in hippocampal GPx activity, but it was not effective against the decreased cortical GPx activity. These results indicate that, although NMDA preconditioning and QA toxicity modulate the activity of some GSH related enzymes, GSH metabolism is not directly linked to the neuroprotective effect induced by NMDA preconditioning.
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PMID:Evaluation of glutathione metabolism in NMDA preconditioning against quinolinic acid-induced seizures in mice cerebral cortex and hippocampus. 1798 Mar 54

This study was designed to verify the influence of MPEP (2-methyl-6-phenylethynyl pyridine hydrochloride), an antagonist of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGluR5), in seizures and status epilepticus (SE) induced by pilocarpine in young rats. In order to investigate the protective effect of MPEP on pilocarpine-induced seizures, young male rats (21-day-old) were pretreated by intraperitoneal route (i.p.) with MPEP (1, 5 and 15 mg/kg) before of pilocarpine administration (400 mg/kg, i.p.). The animals were observed for 1 h after injection of pilocarpine (except pilocarpine group) to determine: number of peripheral cholinergic signs, tremors, stereotyped movements, seizures, SE, latency to the first seizure and number of deaths. Pretreatment with MPEP, at all doses, delayed the onset for the first seizure episode induced by pilocarpine in rats. MPEP abolished the mortality rate caused by administration of pilocarpine in rats. Pretreatment with MPEP (5 and 15 mg/kg) protected against the levels of RS (reactive species), CAT (catalase) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities in brain of rats altered by pilocarpine administration. MPEP, at all doses, protected acetylcholinsterase (AChE) activity inhibited by pilocarpine administration in rats. The results suggest that anticonvulsant action of MPEP can be attributed to its mGlu5 receptor antagonism. Therefore, blockade of mGlu5 receptors might represent a novel target for the treatment of seizures in young rats.
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PMID:Neuroprotective effect caused by MPEP, an antagonist of metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR5, on seizures induced by pilocarpine in 21-day-old rats. 1824 86

In order to assess the role of continuous intracerebral infusion of GABA over the propagation of generalized seizures from the amygdala, Wistar rats were subjected to a kindling procedure at the left basolateral amygdala. Subsequently, they were implanted with miniosmotic pumps filled with 100mg/mL of GABA in saline, connected to catheters whose tips were placed bilaterally at both dorsomedian nuclei of the thalamus (DMNT). The threshold intensity to provoke local afterdischarges (ADT) and generalized seizures (GST) were measured before, during and after GABA infusion, as well as seizure intensity and signs of ataxia and sedation. While there was no observed variation on ADT, the median GST was significantly increased during, but not after infusion of GABA (P=0.047, compared to the preinfusion value). Seizure intensity was not changed. No signs of neurologic side effects were recorded. These data emphasize the role of DMNT in the generalization of seizures originated at the amygdala.
Seizure 2009 Sep
PMID:Continuous bilateral infusion of GABA in the dorsomedian nucleus of the thalamus elevates the generalized seizure threshold in amygdala-kindled rats. 1955 51


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