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

Domoic acid, in increasing doses (10-300 pmol), was microinjected into the hippocampal CA3 region of rats. All rats consistently exhibited generalized bilateral electrical seizure discharge activity at 100 pmol of domoic acid. Seizure latency varied inversely with the dose of domoic acid in the range tested. Local hippocampal administration of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) resulted in neuronal recovery from domoic acid-induced seizures. The seizure activity of domoic acid might be the result of decreased GABAergic inhibition.
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PMID:Domoic acid induced seizure activity in rats. 188 31

In Canada in late 1987 there was an outbreak of an acute illness characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms and unusual neurologic abnormalities among persons who had eaten cultivated mussels. Health departments in Canada solicited reports of this newly recognized illness. A case was defined as the occurrence of gastrointestinal symptoms within 24 hours or of neurologic symptoms within 48 hours of the ingestion of mussels. From the more than 250 reports received, 107 patients met the case definition. The most common symptoms were vomiting (in 76 percent of the patients), abdominal cramps (50 percent), diarrhea (42 percent), headache, often described as incapacitating (43 percent), and loss of short-term memory (25 percent). Nineteen patients were hospitalized, of whom 12 required intensive care because of seizures, coma, profuse respiratory secretions, or unstable blood pressure. Male sex and increasing age were associated independently with the risks of hospitalization and memory loss. Three patients died. Mussels associated with this illness were traced to cultivation beds in three river estuaries on the eastern coast of Prince Edward Island. Domoic acid, which can act as an excitatory neurotransmitter, was identified in mussels left uneaten by the patients and in mussels sampled from these estuaries. The source of the domoic acid appears to have been a form of marine vegetation, Nitzschia pungens, also identified in these waters in late 1987. The contaminated mussels from Prince Edward Island were removed from the market, and no new cases have occurred since December 1987. We conclude that the cause of this outbreak of a novel and severe intoxication was the ingestion of mussels contaminated by domoic acid, a potent excitatory neurotransmitter.
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PMID:An outbreak of toxic encephalopathy caused by eating mussels contaminated with domoic acid. 207 68

Domoic acid (Dom), a rigid analog of the excitotoxic amino acids, glutamate and kainic acid, is believed to be the mussel neurotoxin responsible for a recent food poisoning incident in Canada that killed some people and left others with memory impairment. Since the literature contains very little information pertaining to Dom excitotoxicity, we have systematically evaluated the neuroexcitatory properties of Dom in vitro (cultured hippocampal neurons) and its neurotoxic properties both in vitro (chick embryo retina) and in vivo (adult rat). In the in vitro experiments, the properties of Dom were compared with those of kainic acid, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and quisqualate, each of which is a prototypic agonist at a different subtype of glutamate receptor. Currents induced in hippocampal neurons by Dom and kainic acid were identical and displayed a linear current/voltage relationship (in contrast to NMDA currents) and were nondesensitizing (in contrast to quisqualate currents). Dom currents were not blocked by NMDA antagonists but were blocked by CNQX, an antagonist of non-NMDA receptors. In the chick embryo retina, Dom induced a lesion pattern having the same distinctive characteristics as a kainic acid lesion which differs from that induced by either NMDA or quisqualate, and the Dom lesion was blocked by CNQX but not by NMDA antagonists. Subcutaneous administration of Dom (2.5-3 mg/kg) to adult rats resulted in an acute seizure-brain damage syndrome almost identical to that induced in rats by KA (12 mg/kg) and having important features analogous to the neurotoxic syndrome observed in the human food poison victims.
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PMID:Domoic acid: a dementia-inducing excitotoxic food poison with kainic acid receptor specificity. 217 Jan 63

Domoic acid (0.6 mg/kg) was injected intravenously through the caudal vein in pregnant female mice on the 13th day of gestation and EEG was monitored in the developing progeny during postnatal days 10-30. No clinical seizure activity was observed during this period. However, these mice demonstrated generalized electrocortical inhibition associated with diffuse spike and wave activity in their basal EEG records. Intrauterine domoic acid-exposed (IUD) mice had significantly reduced seizure thresholds to an additional dose of domoic acid, given postnatally. At the light microscopic level, hippocampus of IUD mice exhibited age related developmental neurotoxicity. No cellular damage was observed on postnatal day 1. On day 14, severe neuronal damage was observed in the hippocampal CA3 and dentate gyrus regions. On day 30, in addition to CA3 and dentate gyrus, CA4 was also involved. Brain regional GABA levels were significantly reduced and glutamate levels increased in IUD mice. Kainate receptor binding to hippocampal synaptosomal membranes from IUD mice at 30 d of age was significantly increased. There was also an enhanced 45Ca influx into cortical and hippocampal slices of these mice. These findings suggest that intrauterine exposure to domoic acid can induce hippocampal excitotoxicity by increasing the neuronal calcium influx through kainate receptor activation. Histological changes suggest progressive hippocampal damage in IUD mice, but without overt clinical seizures.
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PMID:Hippocampal changes in developing postnatal mice following intrauterine exposure to domoic acid. 810 41

Domoic acid induces Fos in several brain regions controlling memory processing and gastrointestinal functions. In the present study, we determined serum levels of domoic acid that caused observable effects, and examined whether brain c-fos was a sensitive marker for the lowest observed neuroexcitatory effects in mice. Five different doses (0.25 to 4.0 mg/kg) of domoic acid were intraperitoneally administered to mice, and the serum concentration of domoic acid was monitored using a radioreceptor assay. The earliest neuroexcitatory effect of domoic acid on behavior was observed in the form of hyperactivity which occurred at 0.5 mg/kg (0.076 +/- 0.02 microgram/ml serum domoic acid, means +/- SE, n = 5). However, stereotypic behavior (scratching) was observed only at doses > or = 1.0 mg/kg (0.25 +/- 0.02 microgram/ml). At 2.0 mg/kg (0.54 +/- 0.04 microgram/ml) and higher, convulsions and seizures occurred. Domoic acid induction of c-fos mRNA was detected in the whole brain at 1.0 mg/kg, whereas increased Fos immunostaining was localized in the dentate granule cells and the pyramidal cells of hippocampal formation at doses as low as 0.5 mg/kg (0.076 +/- 0.02 microgram/ml). Our results indicate that Fos expression in the hippocampus is a sensitive biomarker for the neuroexcitatory effects of domoic acid, being induced at doses of domoic acid lower than those that elicit stereotypic behavior.
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PMID:Brain Fos induction is a sensitive biomarker for the lowest observed neuroexcitatory effects of domoic acid. 878 81

Our objective was to characterize the neurotoxic actions of systemically administered domoic acid on different excitatory amino acid receptors, and to compare the receptor selectivity of domoate with the related compound kainic acid. Groups of mice were injected with various ligands selective for N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and 2-amino-3-(3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazol-4-yl)propionic acid-kainate (AMPA/kainate) receptors prior to injection of equitoxic doses of domoic acid or kainic acid. Domoic acid toxicity was not significantly altered by pretreatment with any NMDA receptor selective antagonists, with the exception of 3-(2-carboxypiperazine-4-yl)propyl-1 -phosphonic acid. Consistent with its characterization as an AMPA/kainate agonist, domoate toxicity was significantly antagonized by all non-NMDA receptor antagonists tested. Non-NMDA receptor antagonists that do not distinguish between high- and low-affinity [3H]kainic acid binding (i.e., quinoxalinediones) were equally effective at reducing domoic acid and kainic acid toxicity. However, the novel isatinoxime NS-102, which has been shown to interact selectively with low-affinity [3H]kainic acid binding sites, produced a selective dose-related antagonism of domoic acid toxicity relative to kainic acid. NS-102 produced significant reductions in overall toxicity, onset of motor seizures, and hippocampal CA3 cell damage induced by domoic acid at NS-102 doses that did not antagonize kainic acid induced toxicity. We conclude that domoic acid toxicity in vivo is mediated largely by a subclass of non-NMDA receptors that are selectively antagonized by NS-102.
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PMID:Selective reduction in domoic acid toxicity in vivo by a novel non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist. 896 Mar 97

Domoic acid is a shellfish toxin which produces gastrointestinal distress, followed by neurological symptoms such as headache, confusion, disorientation and severe deficits in short-term memory. Domoic acid is an amino acid which contains three carboxylic groups, and one imino group, and its solubility, rate of absorption, and elimination would vary depending on the protonation of these groups at different pH's. We propose that domoic acid toxicity varies with pH of administered domoic acid solution. Domoic acid toxicity was measured in mice as the onset times for scratching behaviour, seizure activity, and death, after the intraperitoneal administration of domoic acid at different pH's. Results of the present study show that the scratching behaviour, seizure activity, and death, occurred at 12, 40, and 55 min, after intraperitoneal administration of domoic acid at pH 3.7. Apparently, the onset times for three types of behaviours were relatively long, and well separated from each other. Domoic acid toxicity was lowest at pH 3.7, and highest at pH 7.4, with intermediate toxicity at other pH's. The onset time of scratching behaviour was not influenced by pH of domoic acid solution at three different doses. In contrast, the onset times for seizure activity, and death were significantly affected by pH of domoic acid, toxicity being higher at pH 7.4 than at pH 3.7. The pH effect on domoic acid toxicity diminished as the dose of domoic acid was increased. In fact, at 14.5 mg/kg domoic acid toxicity was similar at both pH's of 3.7 and 7.4. It is concluded that in vivo toxicity of domoic acid varies depending on pH of the administered solution. The differential toxicity of domoic acid at different pH may be related to its solubility, rate of absorption, and elimination, depending on the degree of protonation of domoic acid molecule. Domoic acid toxicity would also vary depending on the age of animal, receptor sensitivity and density in different regions of brain.
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PMID:Effect of pH on domoic acid toxicity in mice. 905 95

Domoic acid induces a time-dependent neuroexcitotoxic effect in neonatal rats characterized by hyperactivity, stereotypic scratching, convulsions, and death with observable behaviors occurring at exposures 40 times lower by body weight in neonates than reported in adults. Low doses of domoic acid (0.1 mg/kg) induced c-fos in the central nervous system which was inhibited in part by 2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid, an NMDA receptor antagonist. Domoic acid caused no evidence of structural alteration in the brain of neonates as assessed by Nissel staining and cupric silver histochemistry. Domoic acid induced reproducible behavioral effects at doses as low as 0.05 mg/kg and induced seizures doses as low as 0.2 mg/kg. Determination of serum domoic acid levels after 60 min exposure indicated that serum levels of domoic acid in the neonates corresponded closely to the serum levels that induce similar symptoms in adult rats and mice. We conclude that neonatal rats are highly sensitive to the neuroexcitatory and lethal effects of domoic acid and that the increased sensitivity results from higher than expected serum levels of domoic acid. These findings are consistent with other findings that reduced serum clearance of domoic acid is a predisposing factor to domoic acid toxicity.
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PMID:Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin to neonatal rats. 913 93

Domoic acid (DA) is an environmental neurotoxin to humans. This work examines whether repeated exposure to subsymptomatic or symptomatic nonlethal doses of domoic acid leads to enhanced symptomatic toxicity in ICR outbred and DBA inbred strains of laboratory mice. A multiple independent exposure paradigm was designed in which doses were administered intraperitoneally every other day for 7 days to achieve four separate exposures to domoic acid. We first examined the effect of repeated exposure on serum clearance of domoic acid. Serum domoic acid levels did not differ following a single or repeated exposure. We next examined the effect of repeated exposure on symptomatic toxicity. The mean toxicity scores did not show a significant difference between single and repeated exposures of either subsymptomatic (0.5 mg/kg) or symptomatic sublethal (2.0 mg/kg) doses of domoic acid. We then examined the effects of repeated domoic acid exposure on a second strain of mouse. DBA mice were chosen based upon their sensitivity to kainic acid-induced seizures; however, the ICR mice were more sensitive to low-dose domoic acid toxicity, particularly in terms of onset and duration of stereotypic scratching behavior. Our results indicate that both strains of mice have comparable concentration-dependent toxic responses to domoic acid; however, differences exist in the magnitude of the response and in specific symptoms. The mean toxicity scores did not show a significant difference when a single exposure (1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg domoic acid) and repeated exposure of the same dose were compared in the DBA mice. This study provides no evidence that short-term repeated exposure to domoic acid in laboratory mice alters domoic acid clearance from the serum, or leads to a more sensitive or a greater neurotoxic response.
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PMID:Repeated independent exposures to domoic acid do not enhance symptomatic toxicity in outbred or seizure-sensitive inbred mice. 939 88

The occurrence of an unusual mortality event involving California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) along the central California coast in May 1998 was recently reported. The potent neurotoxin domoic acid (DA), produced naturally by the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia australis and transmitted to the sea lions via planktivorous northern anchovies (Engraulis mordax), was identified as the probable causative agent. Details of DA analyses for anchovy tissues and sea lion feces are described. Domoic acid levels were estimated in anchovy samples by HPLC-UV, and in sea lion feces using the same method as well as a microplate receptor binding assay, with absolute confirmation by tandem mass spectrometry. The highest DA concentrations in anchovies occurred in the viscera (223 +/- 5 microg DA g(-1)), exceeding values in the body tissues by seven-fold and suggesting minimal bioaccumulation of DA in anchovy tissue. HPLC values for DA in sea lion fecal material (ranging from 152 to 136.5 microg DA g(-1)) required correction for interference from an unidentified compound. Inter-laboratory comparisons of HPLC data showed close quantitative agreement. Fecal DA activity determined using the receptor binding assay corresponded with HPLC values to within a factor of two. Finally, our detection of P. australis frustules, via scanning electron microscopy, in both anchovy viscera and fecal material from sea lions exhibiting seizures provides corroborating evidence that this toxic algal species was involved in this unusual sea lion mortality event.
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PMID:Detection of domoic acid in northern anchovies and California sea lions associated with an unusual mortality event. 1064 9


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