Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0040822 (tremor)
 18,428 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Ethanol consumption alters the levels and distribution of pantothenic acid and its metabolic products, an effect that can be counteracted by preloading with pantothenic acid. Ethanol also produces significant disturbances in motor function and has a potent tremorolytic activity when administered acutely. To investigate the interaction of pantothenic acid and ethanol, the two substances were administered alone and in combination to three squirrel monkeys trained to perform a response-initiated positioning task that enabled the detection of tremor. Tremor was evaluated using spectral analytical techniques. Ethanol at 1.0 gm/kg produced a tenfold reduction in tremor over control sessions while pantothenic acid alone had no effect on tremor. Pantothenic acid (200 mg/kg, IP or IV) administered before ethanol intubation completely counteracted the tremor-reducing action of ethanol in two monkeys and partially counteracted it in a third. The interaction between pantothenic acid and ethanol was limited to these motor effects; the rate-reducing effect of ethanol was unaffected by pantothenic acid.
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PMID:Interactions between ethanol and pantothenic acid on tremor and behavior in squirrel monkeys. 155 62

Ethanol (EtOH) withdrawal is characterized by a hyperexcitable state that includes anxiety, tremor, muscle rigidity and seizures. The present three experiments examined the effects of EtOH dependence and withdrawal on the acoustic startle response, an easily quantifiable measure of behavioral reactivity to exteroceptive stimuli. Two intensities of startle stimuli, 105 and 120 dB pulses, were presented to rats during chronic EtOH exposure and during EtOH withdrawal. Prepulse inhibition, which is a sensitive measure of sensorimotor gating processes associated with filtering sensory stimulation, was also assessed during chronic EtOH exposure and withdrawal. Prepulse inhibition was induced by the presentation of a weak 80 dB acoustic stimulus 100 ms prior to a 120 dB stimulus pulse. After 14 days of EtOH liquid diet administration the magnitude of responses elicited by 105 and 120 dB startle stimuli was less in ethanol-treated subjects during continued EtOH access than in animals fed a control liquid diet. When EtOH liquid diet treatment was continued for an additional 3-day period and animals were tested 8 h after withdrawal from EtOH, withdrawn animals were more reactive to startle stimuli at both intensities than were animals maintained on the EtOH liquid diet. A time-course experiment with repeated startle testing at 4, 8, and 12 h post-EtOH exposure revealed significant increases in responding to the 105 dB startle intensity at 8 h post-EtOH exposure. The ability of animals to respond to a prepulse stimulus was not affected during chronic EtOH treatment, but was reduced during withdrawal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Responding to acoustic startle during chronic ethanol intoxication and withdrawal. 157 Mar 82

1. Ethanol-induced sleep time was significantly longer in F344 than LEW rats. However, there is no difference in barbital-induced sleep time between F344 and LEW. 2. Development of tolerance to ethanol-induced motor impairment was slightly faster in F344 than in LEW rats. While, LEW rats more easily developed tolerance to the impairment by barbital in comparison with F344 rats. 3. F344 and LEW rats were chronically treated with liquid diet containing ethanol or with barbital-admixed food. After the termination of ethanol and barbital treatments, various withdrawal signs occurred in F344 rats, including tremor and convulsions, whereas LEW rats showed no convulsions. Withdrawal scores of ethanol and barbital were significantly higher in F344 than in LEW rats. 4. These results suggest that strain differences in physical dependence on ethanol and barbital may be mainly influenced by the susceptibility to ethanol and the development of tolerance to barbital, respectively.
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PMID:Susceptibility to, tolerance to, and physical dependence on ethanol and barbital in two inbred strains of rats. 159 18

Ethanol ingestion markedly reduces tremor in patients with essential tremor. This clinical observation prompted the present experiments, which were designed to investigate ethanol's reduction of tremor in squirrel monkeys trained to execute a bar-holding task. A lever was attached to the hub of a rotary variable differential transformer (RVDT) and three squirrel monkeys were trained to position this lever within a 4.5 cm band for 8 seconds for a fruit juice reward. Behavior was maintained by a random ratio 2 schedule of reinforcement. Angular position of the lever was sampled for 5.12 seconds while the monkey held the bar, differentiated twice and analyzed to obtain a spectral description of tremor in units of acceleration 2/Hz. During control and vehicle sessions a spectral peak appeared at about 6-8 Hz and the magnitude of this peak varied from 25 to 150 milli-g2/Hz (where g is the acceleration due to gravity). A second peak appeared in two animals at greater than 15 Hz. For one animal this high-frequency peak was dominant during control sessions but the 6-8 Hz peak was dominant after intubation with water or ethanol. Ethanol produced consistent and dose-related decreases in the amplitude of the spectrum describing tremor but the location of the spectral peaks did not differ from vehicle sessions. The doses that altered tremor also produced an increase in the number of short-duration holds as well as other, less consistent, alterations in the form of the response. These data confirm and quantify ethanol's potency as a tremorolytic agent.
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PMID:Ethanol's effects on tremor and positioning in squirrel monkeys. 194 6

The yeast-mycelium dimorphism of the genus Benjaminiella poitrasii has been investigated. To understand the mechanism of dimorphism two stable yeast-phase mutants (Y-1 & Y-2) and one slow growing mycelial mutant (M-1) of B. poitrasii were isolated after NTG treatment of parent strain spores and studied for their biochemical characteristics. Effects of (i) kind and concentration of carbon source, (ii) presence of complex organic nitrogen and (iii) C:N ratio in the growth medium on the morphology of parent and mutant strains were carried out at 28 degrees C under shaking conditions. Ethanol induced morphological change and its reversal were studied in all the strains in order to elucidate the possible mechanism of morphogenesis.
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PMID:Dimorphism of Benjaminiella poitrasii: isolation and biochemical studies of morphological mutants. 237 10

Ethanol, a highly lipid-soluble compound, appears to exert its effects through interactions with the cell membrane. Cell membrane alterations indirectly affect the functioning of membrane-associated proteins, which function as channels, carriers, enzymes and receptors. For example, studies suggest that ethanol exerts an effect upon the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-benzodiazepine-chloride ionophore receptor complex, thereby accounting for the biochemical and clinical similarities between ethanol, benzodiazepines and barbiturates. The patient with acute ethanol poisoning may present with symptoms ranging from slurred speech, ataxia and incoordination to coma, potentially resulting in respiratory depression and death. At blood alcohol concentrations of greater than 250 mg% (250 mg% = 250 mg/dl = 2.5 g/L = 0.250%), the patient is usually at risk of coma. Children and alcohol-naive adults may experience severe toxicity at blood alcohol concentrations less than 100 mg%, whereas alcoholics may demonstrate significant impairment only at concentrations greater than 300 mg%. Upon presentation of a patient suspected of acute ethanol poisoning, cardiovascular and respiratory stabilisation should be assured. Thiamine (vitamin B1) and then dextrose should be administered, and the blood alcohol concentration measured. Subsequent to stabilisation, alternative aetiologies for the signs and symptoms observed should be considered. There are presently no agents available for clinical use that will reverse the acute effects of ethanol. Treatment consists of supportive care and close observation until the blood alcohol concentration decreases to a non-toxic level. In the non-dependent adult, ethanol is metabolised at the rate of approximately 15 mg%/hour. Haemodialysis may be considered in cases of a severely ill child or comatose adult. Follow-up may include referral for counselling for alcohol abuse, suicide attempts, or parental neglect (in children). The ethanol withdrawal syndrome may be observed in the ethanol-dependent patient within 8 hours of the last drink, with blood alcohol concentrations in excess of 200 mg%. Symptoms consist of tremor, nausea and vomiting, increased blood pressure and heart rate, paroxysmal sweats, depression, and anxiety. Alterations in the GABA-benzodiazepine-chloride receptor complex, noradrenergic overactivity, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stimulation are suggested explanations for withdrawal symptomatology.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Acute ethanol poisoning and the ethanol withdrawal syndrome. 304 Dec 44

In order to elucidate the fundamental differences between alcohol and barbital physical dependence, comparative studies were made on the effect of various drugs on the withdrawal signs developed in alcohol and barbital dependent mice. Ethanol, barbital and diazepam, drugs of alcohol-barbiturate type dependence liability, and ethosuximide, an anticonvulsant, suppressed both withdrawal signs in a dose dependent manner. The effects of these drugs were different from each other only quantitatively and no special difference was observed between the effects on alcohol and barbital withdrawal signs. On the other hand, the effects of phenytoin, an anticonvulsant, and pentylenetetrazol, a convulsant, were only evident in alcohol dependent animals. Phenytoin elicited body tremor and markedly exacerbated the alcohol withdrawal signs, but slightly suppressed the barbital withdrawal signs. Dose-response curves for the convulsive effect of pentylenetetrazol obtained at the peak of the withdrawal signs shifted greatly to the left in alcohol withdrawn animals but less in barbital withdrawn animals. These discrepancies between the effects on alcohol and barbital withdrawal signs may suggest a difference in the underlying mechanisms for the production of alcohol and barbital physical dependence.
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PMID:Differentiation of alcohol and barbital physical dependence. 377 53

The acute effects of alcohol on spontaneous locomotor activity in male Swiss mice were studied at various times after an IP injection of 2 g/kg ethanol. Subjects were placed alone in a novel arena and videotape recordings were made of behaviour: trials were of 500-s duration and commenced at either 30, 60, 120, or 180 min after alcohol administration. Measures of behaviour included various indices of ambulation and immobility, together with a more detailed ethological analysis of the frequencies of all other acts and postures shown by test animals. Ambulation showed a biphasic response to alcohol treatment, consisting of an initial stimulation followed by a suppression after 3 h. Immobility was also increased by alcohol, and showed peak stimulation in trials commencing 30 min after administration: thereafter there was a progressive return to baseline levels. Many behavioural elements were suppressed including rearing, digging, shaking, and abbreviated grooming. Ethanol thus appeared to produce two distinct types of depression, in terms of increased immobility (and suppression of other behaviour) and in terms of decreased ambulation, the latter occurring when immobility had returned to baseline levels.
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PMID:Time course of the locomotor stimulant and depressant effects of a single low dose of ethanol in mice. 392 Jun 99

Toxicological testing of vaginal irritants currently involves in vivo testing in rabbits. While chemical-induced irritation or inflammation involves numerous biologic responses, these responses appear to be to a large extent mediated by prostaglandin release. Since vaginal tissue of the rat produces prostaglandins, this tissue was studied in vitro to determine if it would respond to ethanol, a mild irritant. Small vaginal segments were rinsed in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer (pH 7.0) and exposed to various concentrations of ethanol. The segments were then transferred to fresh buffer and incubated for 30 min in a shaking 37 degrees C water bath. Ethanol (70%) exposure for 30 sec increased prostaglandin E2 and F2 alpha production by vaginal tissue. While ethanol exposure resulted in increases in prostaglandin production regardless of the stage of the cycle from which the tissue was derived, the relative increase was greatest in tissues from the diestrous stage of the cycle. The prostaglandin production response of vaginal tissue, and of cervical and uterine tissue, was related to the concentration of ethanol to which these tissues were exposed. Indomethacin blocked this response in a dose-dependent manner. These experiments demonstrate that vaginal tissue responds to ethanol by increasing production of PGF2 alpha and PGE2. This in vitro system may prove useful as an alternative to live-animal testing in the screening of irritants of the vaginal mucosa or other tissues as well.
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PMID:Prostaglandin production by rat vaginal tissue, in vitro, in response to ethanol, a mild mucosal irritant. 404 94

Ethanol (2.0-5.0 g/kg, IP) caused a dose-related impairment of the aerial righting reflex of mice 60 min after injection. Ethanol (3.5 g/kg, IP) given simultaneously with neurotensin (30 micrograms, IC), bombesin (30 micrograms, IC) or beta-endorphin (20 micrograms, IC) caused a greater impairment of the reflex than ethanol alone. Simultaneous treatment with ethanol (4.0 g/kg, IP) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH, 3.0-30 micrograms, IC) caused less impairment of this measure than ethanol alone. None of the peptides altered the height of aerial righting when administered alone, or when administered with ethanol no peptide altered blood or brain ethanol content. Unexpectedly, TRH (20 and 40 mg/kg, IP) potentiated the action of ethanol by increasing punished licking in water-deprived rats, rather than antagonizing this acute action of ethanol. Like ethanol (1.0 and 2.0 g/kg, IP), beta-endorphin (100 micrograms, IC) suppressed ethanol-withdrawal tremor and audiogenic-seizure susceptibility in ethanol-dependent rats. beta-Endorphin (1 microgram) and bombesin (10 and 30 micrograms, IC) reduced only audiogenic-seizure susceptibility. TRH (10-100 micrograms, IC, or 1-40 mg/kg, IV) and neurotensin (10-100 micrograms, IC) had no effect on these ethanol-withdrawal signs. These findings suggest that centrally active peptides may play a role in certain acute and chronic actions of ethanol. Because TRH, neurotensin, bombesin and beta-endorphin do not alter all actions of ethanol in the same way, an interaction of ethanol with many functionally independent neuronal circuits is suggested.
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PMID:Modification of the actions of ethanol by centrally active peptides. 626 62


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