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Query: UMLS:C0036572 (seizures)
 80,221 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Treatment of the convulsive and neuropathologic actions of organophosphates comprise the major unsolved problem in defending against this class of chemical nerve agents. Understanding and preventing these central actions are important goals of chemical defense research. It is generally accepted that inhibition of acetylcholinesterase results in an accumulation of acetylcholine (ACh) which may be responsible for the acute toxic effects of nerve agents. Although atropine has long been used in the treatment of poisoning, it does not significantly reduce convulsions and seizures nor does it drastically alter the acute toxicity. Inasmuch as antimuscarinic agents do not provide sufficient antidotal activity, it follows that ACh may not be the only transmitter involved in the CNS actions of organophosphates. Benzodiazepines, the most potent of the clinically available anticonvulsants are potentially useful as antidote against nerve agent poisoning. However, significant disadvantages are associated with the im administration of benzodiazepines particularly diazepam the now anticonvulsant fielded drug. The present report was undertaken to compare the effectiveness of thienyl phencyclidine (TCP), a non-competitive antagonist at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors, to diazepam both administered im for protection against soman toxicity (convulsions, seizures, incidence on death, brain damage). In a first set of experiments, male wistar rats were pretreated with diazepam (1 mg/kg) given im. Fifteen minutes later 1 x LD50 of soman was injected sc and the incidence of seizures and death were recorded for 24 hr. The therapeutic efficacy of a post-poisoning treatment of diazepam was also studied. In this case diazepam was administered 45 min after the onset of seizures. In a second set of experiments, guinea-pigs were pretreated with pyridostigmine (0.2 mg/kg, sc) in combination with atropine (5 mg/kg, im) 30 min before soman (62 micrograms/kg, sc) and the protective effect of TCP (2.5 mg/kg, im) evaluated when the drug was administered either before soman (15 or 30 min) or after the onset of EEG seizures (5, 30 or 60 min). Pretreatment with diazepam alone did reduce soman-induced seizures but did not reduce mortality of rats. Neuropathology was not observed in non-seizuring rats. When given 45 min after the onset of seizures, diazepam failed to protect against status epilepticus and neuropathology. Thus, diazepam was more effective when given before, rather than after, seizure initiation. Systemic injection of TCP blocked the seizures induced by 2 x LD50 of soman in guinea-pigs pretreated by pyridostigmine and atropine. The anticonvulsant potency of TCP was particularly obvious when the compound was administered curatively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:[Prevention and treatment of status epilepticus induced by soman]. 808 42

The changes in extracellular gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels, the modifications in binding capacities of GABA-receptor subtypes A and B and of the Cl- ionophore sites localized in the ionic-channel associated to the GABAA receptors were studied in hippocampus of rats subjected to a convulsive dose of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor soman. Whereas extracellular GABA levels, just as binding on GABAA and GABAB receptors, were not modified under soman, a significant transient decrease in the binding capacities of the Cl- ionophore site of the GABAA receptor complex occurred within the first 10 min of seizures in CA1, CA3 areas, and in the dentate gyrus with return to basal values after 30 min. Accordingly, a transient decrease of the brain muscimol-gated Cl- influx was observed after 10 min of seizures. An increased ability of diazepam to potentiate the GABAA gated Cl- influx occurred at the same time. Altogether, these data demonstrated that an impairment of the GABAA receptor function occurs at the beginning of seizures. This suggests that a temporary decrease of GABAAergic function may contribute to the onset of seizures.
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PMID:Transient impairment of the gabaergic function during initiation of soman-induced seizures. 811 28

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the efficacy of diazepam and a water soluble pro-diazepam drug, avizafone (lysyl, peptido-aminobenzophenone diazepam pro-drug) in preventing or reducing the severity of soman-induced neuropathology in rats and to determine the temporal relationship between seizure initiation, anticonvulsant administration and the incidence and severity of soman-induced neuropathology. Brains from rats, treated with a convulsant dose of soman (pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate) and anticonvulsants such as diazepam and avizafone, were evaluated by light microscopy for evidence of neuropathology. All rats received atropine methyl nitrate (20 mg/kg, ip)+the bispyridinium acetylcholinesterase reactivator HI-6 (125 mg/kg, ip; 1-(((4-(aminocarbonyl)pyridinio) methoxy)methyl)-2-((hydroxyimino)methyl)-pyridinium dichloride) in the same solution 10 min before soman (130 micrograms/kg,sc). Three days later the rats were perfused and the tissue fixed for histological evaluation. Necrosis and/or malacia (degenerative changes) and hemorrhage were observed in some groups. The sites where pathology was most frequently observed and with greater severity were the piriform cortex, amygdala and (dorsal) thalamus. Less severe changes were observed in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. There were no changes in the hypothalamus. Diazepam given 10 minutes before soman prevented the occurrence of soman-induced convulsions and neuropathology (i.e. degenerative changes were not then seen). Diazepam given at the start of the soman-induced convulsions reduced considerably the convulsions and the degree of neuropathology. Avizafone given 10 minutes before soman reduced slightly the effect of soman. Other treatments (diazepam given 30, 60 and 120 minutes after the start of the convulsions and avizafone given at the start of convulsions) showed little or no effect on the neuropathology associated with soman administration. The results of this study have demonstrated that the use of an anticonvulsant, such as diazepam, must be initiated shortly after soman exposure in order for any therapeutic benefit to be realized.
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PMID:Efficacy of diazepam and avizafone against soman-induced neuropathology in brain of rats. 816 92

Using brain microdialysis, acetylcholine (Ach) levels were assessed in the nucleus amygdaloideus lateralis of electrically kindled rats using a cholinesterase inhibitor in the perfusion fluid to prevent Ach breakdown. During kindling development, when the animals displayed afterdischarges lasting more than 30 s but no seizures, a significant increase in Ach levels (+66%) was observed after electrical stimulation. Ach levels were also elevated after a stage 5 kindled seizure (+48%), with no additional increment compared to rats experiencing only afterdischarges. Chronic diazepam administration prevented kindling development and the increment in Ach overflow; however, diazepam itself (following acute administration) tended to decrease Ach levels in the amygdala. These findings are convergent with pharmacological data suggesting that changes in the cholinergic function may be important especially during amygdaloid kindling development.
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PMID:Electrical kindling is associated with increases in amygdala acetylcholine levels: an in vivo microdialysis study. 817 11

A review of the literature was conducted to provide an overview of organophosphorus (OP)-induced morphological changes in the non-human primate. Most studies have evaluated effects of the OP nerve agent soman (pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate), an irreversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase. Soman-induced acute and chronic morphological changes have been examined. The effects of nerve agent therapy (i.e. pyridostigmine, praloxidime chloride and atropine), with and without an anticonvulsant (i.e. diazepam, midazolam), on soman-induced lesions have also been studied. Acute changes in the central nervous system of rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys exposed to soman alone or soman and therapy, without an anticonvulsant, were characterized by neuronal degeneration and necrosis and neuropil edema. The lesions were usually present in the frontal cortex, entorhinal cortex, amygdaloid complex, caudate nucleus, thalamus and hippocampus. Morphologically, these lesions resemble lesions produced by hypoxic-ischemic injury or by seizures and are similar to soman-induced changes in other laboratory animals. Nerve agent therapy supplemented with an anticonvulsant reduced or prevented soman-induced acute neural lesions. Acute changes in non-neural tissues were limited to the heart (e.g. hemorrhage, myofiber necrosis, myocarditis) and skeletal muscle (e.g. myofiber necrosis). Heart lesions in the non-human primate are similar to OP-induced heart lesions in man. The pathogenesis of the acute lesions in both the central nervous system and heart is discussed. Consistent soman-induced chronic morphological changes have not been produced in the rhesus monkey or baboon.
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PMID:Soman-induced morphological changes: an overview in the non-human primate. 832 86

Wistar rats of a selected strain show spontaneous generalized non-convulsive seizures with bilateral synchronous spike-wave discharges on the cortical electroencephalograph (EEG). The 7 to 9 c/s spike-wave discharges occur predominantly in waking states of inactivity. The effects of cholinergic drugs on the cumulated duration of spike-wave discharges were investigated in this rat model of absence epilepsy. I.p. injections of drugs which potentiate cholinergic neurotransmission, namely the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, physostigmine (0.1-0.5 mg/kg), the muscarinic receptor agonists, oxotremorine (0.25-1 mg/kg) and pilocarpine (0.125-2 mg/kg), and the nicotinic receptor agonist, nicotine (0.062-2 mg/kg), suppressed discharges in a dose-dependent manner and induced an arousal-like cortical EEG. The muscarinic receptor antagonist, scopolamine, increased the spike-wave discharges at doses below 0.05 mg/kg; at higher doses (0.05-1 mg/kg) it decreased discharges and induced a sleep-like EEG. The nicotinic receptor antagonist, mecamylamine (0.5-6 mg/kg), had no effect on spike-wave discharges or the EEG. These results suggest that cholinergic activity accounts for the preferential occurrence of absence seizures in states of reduced arousal.
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PMID:Effects of cholinergic drugs on genetic absence seizures in rats. 838 12

A massive and transitory increase in c-fos mRNA and Fos protein occurred in rats intoxicated by a single dose of soman (organophosphate compound and irreversible cholinesterase inhibitor) only in animals that had seizures. Comparison of immunohistochemistry that localizes Fos protein and of in situ hybridization that localizes its mRNA showed that there was an early and explosive expression of mRNA in many cerebral regions followed by transitory immunoreactivity in only some regions (piriform cortex, entorhinal area, hippocampus). The levels of mRNA and c-fos-like immunoreactivity decreased slowly and returned to basal level 24 h after soman administration.
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PMID:Variation in the expression of c-fos after intoxication by soman. Comparative study using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. 845 76

Biperiden (BPR) and trihexyphenidyl (THP), the current antimuscarinic drugs of choice in the management of parkinsonism, have been shown to exert anticonvulsant effects induced by poisoning by the organophosphorus compound soman. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of these drugs on performance of a simple light-intensity discrimination task in rats under a tandem schedule of fixed-ratio (FR) reward/ differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL) nonreward contingencies, for water reinforcement in 2-h experimental sessions. Both BPR (0.125-2.0 mg/kg, SC) and THP (0.25-8.0 mg/kg, SC) in general decreased overall reinforcement rates in a similar dose dependent and parallel manner, concurrent with increased overall nonreinforced responses in an inverted U-shaped dose-response relationship. Lower doses of BPR (0.125-0.5 mg/kg) and and THP (0.25-2.0 mg/kg) produced a moderate reduction in reinforcement (> or = 50% of baseline controls), which was correlated well with increases in nonreinforced responses emitted, whereas, higher doses of BPR (> 0.5 mg/kg) and TPH (> or = 2.0 mg/kg) markedly decreased reinforcements, which mainly resulted from the pausing of responding in the presence of stereotyped behavior. The behavioral disruption induced by BPR was much more rapid than that induced by THP. The ED50 values (0.6 mg/kg vs. 1.3 mg/kg, respectively) and parallel dose-effect curves suggest that these drugs have similar efficacy, and that BPR is about twice as potent as THP, a ranking that corresponds with their binding affinity at M-1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in rat cerebral cortex. Based on the similarity between the anticonvulsant doses of these drugs and the maximal doses that in this study did not disrupt operant responses (0.125 mg/kg vs. 0.25 mg/kg, respectively), it is suggested that both drugs may be useful in protection against seizures produced by the cholinesterase inhibitor soman. Overall, these results suggest that this multiple schedule operant contingency may have promise as a behavioral model to identify the therapeutic or toxic potentials of centrally acting antimuscarinic antiparkinsonian drugs based on their congnitive side effects.
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PMID:Effects of antimuscarinic antiparkinsonian drugs on brightness discrimination performance in rats. 874 5

Sensitivity of brain muscarinic acetylcholine receptors to the agonists was examined in nicotine tolerant animals which were developed by acutely repeated injections of nicotine. In conscious rats, the dose-response curves of muscarinic agonists arecoline and pilocarpine, cholinesterase inhibitors soman and physostigmine rather than GABA receptor antagonist pentylenetetrazol or glycine receptor antagonist strychnine for producing EEG seizures were shifted leftwards by acutely repeated injections of nicotine. This phenomenon could be prevented by nicotinic antagonist mecamylamine. Similar results were obtained in acute nicotine tolerant mice and rabbits. In other experiments, the dose-response curve of arecoline-induced convulsions or oxotremorine-induced tremors was also shifted leftwards, and the durations of arecoline- and oxotremorine-induced tremors were prolonged in acute nicotine tolerant mice. In addition, the effects of arecoline for producing down-regulation of muscarinic receptors of rat cerebrum and hippocampus rather than brain stem were potentiated in acute nicotine tolerant rats. It is concluded that the sensitivity of brain muscarinic receptor to its agonists is increased in acute nicotine tolerant rats, mice and rabbits.
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PMID:Regulatory effects of acutely repeated nicotine treatment towards central muscarinic receptors. 889 Sep 20

D-myo-Inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6, phytate), a normal cellular constituent, was found to be toxic to neuronal perikarya when injected into the rat hippocampus. However, the extrinsic cholinergic innervation of the hippocampus (as estimated by staining for acetylcholinesterase) was unaffected. Its potency as a toxin was approximately equal to that of the excitotoxin quinolinate. Other highly charged derivatives of inositol (inositol hexakissulphate, inositol monophosphate) were not toxic. The cytotoxicity of InsP6 was not due to a high osmolality, or to seizure-induced lesions, but was reduced by calcium. Nevertheless, the toxicity was not due to chelation of brain calcium by InsP6, as another calcium chelator with a higher affinity for calcium, 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA), produced only a very mild lesion. Thus, abnormal metabolism of InsP6 might possibly contribute to neuronal death in neurodegenerative diseases.
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PMID:Neuronal cytotoxicity of inositol hexakisphosphate (phytate) in the rat hippocampus. 900 15


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