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

Recent studies in this laboratory have demonstrated that intramuscular injection of the irreversible acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor, soman (pinacolylmethylphosphonofluoridate), produces a rapid (1-2 h) and profound depletion (70% of control) of norepinephrine (NE) in the olfactory bulb and forebrain. NE is decreased only in convulsing animals. As NE-containing locus coeruleus (LC) neurons provide the only NE input to the olfactory bulb and the major NE innervation of the forebrain, the reduction of NE suggests that soman may cause tonic activation of LC neurons leading to rapid depletion of NE. Activation of LC may result from: (i) facilitation of cholinergic transmission in LC; (ii) soman-induced activation of excitatory inputs to LC; or (iii) generalized activation of LC neurons due to seizures. The present experiments were designed to assess these alternatives. We examined whether LC neuronal activity, c-fos expression, and AChE staining are altered after peripheral (systemic) or direct intracoerulear injection of soman in anesthetized rats. Both modes of soman administration rapidly and potently increase the spontaneous discharge rate of LC neurons. This activation was associated with a desynchronization of the electroencephalogram, but not with seizures. The discharge of LC neurons remained elevated at all postsoman intervals examined (up to 2 h) and was rapidly and completely reversed by systemic injection of the muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine hydrochloride, but not by the nicotinic receptor antagonist mecamylamine. Both systemic and intracoerulear soman administration completely inhibited AChE staining in LC and rapidly induced the expression of c-fos in LC neurons. These results demonstrate that soman potently and tonically activates LC neurons. This effect appears to be mediated by direct inhibition of AChE in LC leading to a rapid accumulation of ACh. Unhydrolyzed ACh tonically activates LC neurons via muscarinic receptors. Soman-induced activation of LC neurons does not require seizures. We conclude that depletion of forebrain and olfactory bulb NE after systemic administration of soman results from tonic hypercholinergic stimulation of LC.
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PMID:Tonic activation of locus coeruleus neurons by systemic or intracoerulear microinjection of an irreversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor: increased discharge rate and induction of C-fos. 138 4

Soman, an organophosphorous irreversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, was studied for its effect on the rat blood-brain barrier (BBB) during the first 24 h of intoxication. Young adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, injected with Evans blue-dye and surviving a subsequent single convulsive dose of soman (114 micrograms/kg, 0.9LD50), presented focal and diffuse penetration of dye in areas of brain normally considered protected by the BBB. Invasion was widest during the first hour when signs of excitation, respiratory distress and convulsions peaked and was absent at 24 h. During this time period, cholinesterase inhibition, as measured by enzyme assay, persisted in brain and blood at 10% and 6% of control values respectively. Brains of nonconvulsing animals and animals pretreated with nembutal (45 mg/kg, I.P.) or with diazepam (10 mg/kg, I.P.) were free of extravasated dye. A ranking of dye-breached brain areas suggested that cerebellar and cerebral cortex were most frequently involved while brain stem was rarely stained. Ultrastructural analysis of breached areas with horseradish peroxidase as a tracer molecule, revealed that the probable subcellular mechanism of the induced breach was enhanced vesicular transport, a mechanism similarly described for seizure. Consequences of the breach were emphasized with the detection of significantly elevated levels of an exogenously administered quaternary compound, 3H-hexamethonium. These findings present additional evidence that an anticholinesterase-induced breach of the rat blood-brain barrier is convulsive dependent, demonstrates BBB mechanisms similar to that of seizure, and can allow CNS penetration of blood-borne drugs and circulatory proteins that normally would be slowed or excluded by an intact BBB.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Effect of an anticholinesterase compound on the ultrastructure and function of the rat blood-brain barrier: a review and experiment. 207 Mar 59

Soman-induced respiratory failure was investigated in awake, behaving guinea pigs chronically instrumented to allow concurrent recordings of medullary respiratory-related unit (RRU) activity, diaphragm electromyogram (DEMG), and electrocorticogram. Responses to soman typically began with hyperpnea. Loss of consciousness, as indicated by the development of seizure activities, took place shortly after the onset of hyperpnea. This was followed by dyspnea, hypopnea, and finally, respiratory failure. The most profound respiratory dysfunctions were seen during the development of dyspnea characterized by a progressively degenerative RRU-DEMG phase relationship (phase anomalies) and mixed patterns of ataxic breathing. Electrophysiographic records indicated that the anomalous RRU-DEMG phase phenomenon is attributable to a state of functional dissociation in some brainstem mechanisms that are normally involved in the orchestration of a synchronous respiratory drive. The failure of bulbar rhythmogenic mechanisms to maintain an orderly and synchronous recruitment of respiratory drive, which led to untimely and chaotic activations of respiratory muscles, was apparently the underlying cause of various ataxic breathing patterns and a reduced ventilatory efficiency. Spectral analyses of DEMG activities showed that, despite episodic muscle fasciculations and signs of fatigue, the functional integrity of the diaphragm was not significantly compromised by soman at a dose sufficient to produce respiratory failure. These findings not only support the notion of a relatively more important involvement of central respiratory mechanisms in soman-induced respiratory failure, but also identify a state of functional dissociation of central respiratory timing mechanisms as being a significant component in soman intoxication.
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PMID:Neurophysiological concomitants of soman-induced respiratory depression in awake, behaving guinea pigs. 230 Sep 68

Effects of atropine or diazepam pretreatment on soman-induced convulsions and brain phosphoinositide (PI) metabolism, as assessed by brain regional inositol-1-phosphate (IP1) levels, were studied in saline and LiCl-pretreated rats. IP1, an intermediate in PI turnover, was measured in cortex, caudate, thalamus, hippocampus, and cerebellum. Soman (100 micrograms/kg; sc) produced convulsions in 63% of the saline-pretreated rats, whereas with LiCl pretreatment all rats exposed to 100 micrograms/kg of soman had tonic-clonic convulsions. Thus, LiCl pretreatment potentiated soman-induced convulsions. Tissue IP1 increased severalfold in soman-exposed convulsing rats with the highest increases being in frontal cortex and caudate. In contrast, no marked increases of IP1 occurred in similarly treated nonconvulsing rats. LiCl treatment itself increased IP1 levels without causing convulsions. In LiCl-pretreated rats, soman again markedly elevated IP1 levels above LiCl alone in convulsing rats, whereas no such effect occurred in nonconvulsing rats. In LiCl-pretreated rats, the increased IP1 levels associated with soman-induced convulsions were greatest in hippocampus and piriform cortex. Thus, LiCl appears to lower the threshold for the spread of seizure activity through limbic structures, thereby potentiating cholinergic-induced convulsions. Diazepam and atropine both blocked soman-induced convulsions, and brain regional IP1 elevations were concomitantly abolished as well. These results indicate that soman-induced convulsions involve the inositol lipid signaling system. This involvement is potentiated by lithium but attenuated by atropine and diazepam.
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PMID:Soman-induced convulsions affect the inositol lipid signaling system: potentiation by lithium; attenuation by atropine and diazepam. 284 36

Rats treated intravenously with an organophosphorus anticholinesterase compound, paraoxon or soman, were sacrificed 2 to 131 min later, using 0.7 sec of focused microwave irradiation (25 kW at 915 MHz). Brain regional rates of glucose utilization during 3-min intervals were determined with labeled glucose and fluorodeoxyglucose as tracers. Levels of glucose, lactate, ATP, and creatine phosphate were assayed in the same samples. The two compounds differed markedly in their effects on brain metabolism. Paraoxon (0.8 LD50) depressed rates of glucose use in all brain regions, without causing consistent changes in brain metabolite levels. This depressant effect was most pronounced during the first 30 min after toxin exposure and had largely disappeared by 2 hr. Soman (0.8-0.95 LD50) was variable in its effects. Animals that showed seizure-like behavior had marked increases in glucose use in diencephalon and cerebrum but no changes in cerebellum or brain stem. Rapid rates of glucose use were associated with high levels of lactic acid and lower levels of creatine phosphate. In cerebrum, but not diencephalon, levels of ATP fell by as much as 50% in strongly affected animals by 30-130 min after soman. All of these effects were reversible with atropine. Soman-treated animals that did not have seizure-like activity did not exhibit these brain metabolic changes. These results and those of others show that cholinergic compounds vary greatly in their effects on brain glucose and energy metabolism. Although noncholinergic mechanisms are a possibility, the most parsimonious explanation for these findings is that cholinesterase inhibitors vary in their affinity for different central nervous system (CNS) acetylcholine receptor populations.
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PMID:Cerebral metabolic effects of organophosphorus anticholinesterase compounds. 350 39

The behavioral effects produced by acute exposure to sublethal doses of pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate (soman) were examined in the Sprague Dawley rat. Two hours after exposure to soman (100-150 micrograms/kg IM), dose-related decreases in spontaneous motor activity (SMA), fore- and hindlimb grip strength, thermal sensitivity, and rectal temperature were observed. In addition, acoustic startle response amplitude decreased, while response latency increased. Soman also depressed the percentage of conditioned avoidance and escape responses and increased response latency. In both the 103 and 116 micrograms/kg dose groups, effects on hindlimb grip strength persisted up to 14 days after exposure, while effects on hot plate response lasted for 7 days. A biphasic change in motor activity was seen in the 103 and 116 mg/kg soman groups: Initial SMA depression during the first 24 hours after exposure was followed by SMA increases which persisted up to 21 days. Animals that showed delayed hyperactivity often exhibited seizures and increased excitability when handled. The results of these studies demonstrate that sublethal doses of soman can cause marked and often long-lasting changes in behavior in the rat.
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PMID:Duration and intensity of behavioral change after sublethal exposure to soman in rats. 380 85

With the six convulsants studied (Soman, intrahippocampal penicillin, bicuculline, pentylenetetrazol, picrotoxin and strychnine), the anatomical distribution of changes in local cerebral glucose utilization was related to the type of seizure observed. Strychnine induced a few very intense motor convulsions during the 2-deoxyglucose experimental period without having a major effect on brain local cerebral glucose utilization, in support of the view that its actions are predominantly in the spinal cord. Pentylenetetrazol and picrotoxin induced intermittent intense seizures and marked increases in local cerebral glucose utilization in the globus pallidus and substantia nigra. Soman, intrahippocampal penicillin and bicuculline all induced persistent status epilepticus associated with increases in local cerebral glucose utilization in many brain areas; those with striking increases in glucose use include: cortical areas, the limbic system, basal ganglia and substantia nigra. The glucose use changes produced by Soman, penicillin and bicuculline greatly exceeded those induced by pentylenetetrazol and picrotoxin. Activation of the substantia nigra and basal ganglia occurred with all centrally mediated convulsions and with status epilepticus there was also marked activation of cortical and limbic structures.
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PMID:Changes in local cerebral glucose utilization induced by convulsants. 399 Sep 60

The [14C]-2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) technique was used to determine the delayed effects of Soman, a potent anticholinesterase inhibitor, on local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU). Rats were given 100 micrograms/kg of Soman (0.9 LD50; i.m.) or saline and LCGU was assessed 24, 48 or 72 hours later. All Soman injected rats had strong, continuous seizures which persisted for at least one hour. At 24 hours post-Soman there was greater than a 2-fold reduction in LCGU in the frontal cortex, cingulate gyrus, anterior and ventral thalamic nuclei, lateral habenula, parietal cortex, lateral geniculate and medial geniculate. On the other hand, the hippocampal structures did not show a significant decrease in LCGU until 48 hours post-Soman exposure. Conspicuous neuropathology was obvious in a number of structures upon inspection of the frozen brain sections, hematoxylin and eosin stained sections or the 2-DG autoradiograms, 24 to 72 hours post soman-exposure. Damage was most severe in the piriform cortex and amygdala. The lateral and ventral thalamic nuclei, many cortical regions and variable segments of the hippocampus were also consistently damaged. We suggest that energy deprivation, inadequate perfusion and/or inadequate calcium sequestration may contribute to the delayed effects following Soman-induced seizures. The 2-deoxyglucose method provides information about the dynamic process of cerebral glucose utilization and serves as a "window" for identifying neuroanatomical structures affected by neurotoxins.
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PMID:Delayed effects of Soman: brain glucose use and pathology. 404 16

Rats were trained to press a lever under a multiple fixed-ratio 25 fixed-interval 50-second (FR25 FI50-sec) schedule of food reinforcement. Soman, 70-90 micrograms/kg, s.c., suppressed response rates in both components, with a slightly greater effect in the FI schedule. The pattern of responding under the FI schedule, however, was maintained until lever-pressing was nearly completely suppressed. At the highest doses, soman occasionally caused tremors or mild tonic seizures with hindlimb abduction. The suppression of response rate was correlated with inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in all brain regions examined: cortex, striatum, hippocampus, hypothalamus and brainstem. Cortical AChE was inhibited to the highest degree, while striatal AChE was most resistant to inhibition by soman.
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PMID:Effect of soman on schedule-controlled behavior and brain acetylcholinesterase in rats. 407 56

The (14C)-2-deoxyglucose procedure was used to determine the effects of the potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitor Soman on regional metabolism in the brain. Groups of rats were given 112 micrograms/kg Soman, 84 micrograms/kg Soman, or saline i.m., and 15 min later the (14C)-2-deoxyglucose mapping procedure was initiated. All animals given 112 micrograms/kg Soman and 2 of 6 given 84 micrograms/kg Soman developed seizures that continued throughout the mapping procedure. Very high rates of glucose use occurred in most of the brain regions studied during seizures. The most striking increases occurred in substantia nigra, septum, outer layer of dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, hippocampal body, frontal cortex, caudate, ventral thalamus, parietal cortex, medial geniculate and interpeduncular nucleus. Only the inferior colliculus, superior olivary nucleus and lateral habenula were unaffected by the seizures. The mid layers of cerebral cortex rostral to superior colliculus showed marked reductions in glucose use which may represent inhibition of neuronal activity or functional failure from depleted energy reserves. The animals given 84 micrograms/kg i.m. that did not have seizures had regional glucose use patterns similar to the controls. The results indicate that the brain damage observed by others in Soman treated rats may be in part due to the excessive neuronal stimulation that occurs during the prolonged Soman-induced seizure.
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PMID:Brain regional glucose use during Soman-induced seizures. 668 61


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