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Query: UNIPROT:P01178 (oxytocin)
 15,767 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Water balance is tightly regulated within a tolerance of less than 1 percent by a physiologic control system located in the hypothalamus. Body water homeostasis is achieved by balancing renal and nonrenal water losses with appropriate water intake. The major stimulus to thirst is increased osmolality of body fluids as perceived by osmoreceptors in the anteroventral hypothalamus. Hypovolemia also has an important effect on thirst which is mediated by arterial baroreceptors and by the renin-angiotensin system. Renal water loss is determined by the circulating level of the antidiuretic hormone, arginine vasopressin (AVP). AVP is synthesized in specialized neurosecretory cells located in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei in the hypothalamus and is transported in neurosecretory granules down elongated axons to the posterior pituitary. Depolarization of the neurosecretory neurons results in the exocytosis of the granules and the release of AVP and its carrier protein (neurophysin) into the circulation. AVP is secreted in response to a wide variety of stimuli. Change in body fluid osmolality is the most potent factor affecting AVP secretion, but hypovolemia, the renin-angiotensin system, hypoxia, hypercapnia, hyperthermia and pain also have important effects. Many drugs have been shown to stimulate the release of AVP as well. Small changes in plasma AVP concentration of from 0.5 to 4 muU per ml have major effects on urine osmolality and renal water handling.
West J Med 1979 Nov
PMID:The clinical physiology of water metabolism. Part I: The physiologic regulation of arginine vasopressin secretion and thirst. 39 80

The effects of nitrendipine, a Calcium channel antagonist, on stimulated contractions of 72 tissue strips of pregnant human myometrium was studied. The agonists used were oxytocin, angiotensin II (AII) and ergometrine maleate. The concentration: response curves for the contractile effects on these agonists on the myometrial tissue strips were initially established in three separate but identical experiments (n = 24 in each group) over a predetermined optimal concentration range of each of the agonists. Contractions were recorded isotonically against a fixed tension of 500mg using microtorque technique. The curves were then re-established, for each agonist, in the absence and in the presence of 10(-9)M nitrendipine. The agonists consistently contracted the myometrial tissues in a dose-dependent manner during the establishment of the initial curves. The overall initial EC50 for the oxytocin treatment group was 6.4 x 10(-10)M, while the corresponding EC50s for the AII, and ergometrine treatment groups were 5.9 x 10(-11) and 4.0 x 10(-8)M respectively. Nitrendipine significantly blunted the myometrial tissue response to oxytocin. The EC50 of the oxytocin control group was significantly different from similar group treated with nitrendipine. (9.0 x 10(-10)M for the control, as compared with 8.3 x 10(-7)M for the nitrendipine treatment group p less than or equal to 0.05). Nitrendipine did not significantly influence the myometrial tissue response to AII or ergometrine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
West Afr J Med
PMID:Studies on the effects of nitrendipine on oxytocin, angiotensin II and ergometrine-induced contraction of pregnant human myometrium in vitro. 248 3

Tetramethylpyrazine is extracted from Rhizoma ligustici wallichii, an herb used in the Chinese medicine Chung Chong. Both herb and extract have been used in the treatment of anginal pain and stroke. Animal studies in the West have shown that tetramethylpyrazine improves coronary blood flow, is short acting, and has a low toxicity. There are no clinical or animal studies on the uterine effects of tetramethylpyrazine. We present results of a preliminary study with isolated uterine strips from rats. We found that tetramethylpyrazine, in a dose-dependent manner (0.6 to 20 micrograms/ml), reduced uterine diastolic tone and inhibited the response to oxytocin (0.02 to 0.32 micrograms/ml). Higher concentrations of tetramethylpyrazine were needed to block the uterine responses to prostaglandin E2 (0.01 to 0.1 microgram/ml). On the basis of clinical and folk experience in the Far East, tetramethylpyrazine appears to have fewer systemic effects in human beings than have the beta-adrenergic agonists or calcium channel blockers. We suggest that studies in the whole animal and in the clinic might provide reasons to use tetramethylpyrazine to reduce uterine contractions and tone in pregnant women at term.
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PMID:In vitro uterine response to tetramethylpyrazine, the active constituent of chung chong (a traditional Chinese medicine). 258 59

Fertilized eggs from rabbits 1 or 2.5 days after insemination were transferred to the oviduct or uterine horn of recipients that had received a single subcutaneous injection of 20 or 30 mg of one of seven long-acting progestins. The rabbits were observed daily, and the number of implantation sites was determined 10 or 11 days after egg transfer. No implantation sites were recorded in the recipient does treated with progesterone or ZK-5623 (Schering AG, Berlin, West Germany), a nor-steroid compound. Thirty-nine percent and 51% of the transferred eggs implanted in the recipient does treated with ZK-5410 (Schering AG) and chloromadinone acetate (Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN), respectively. However, most of the pregnant animals aborted 14 to 20 days after egg transfer. The pregnancy was either maintained to term or was prolonged beyond the normal gestation length in the does treated with other compounds, ZK-53915, ZK-9349 (Schering AG) or Depo-Provera (Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo, MI). The young delivered after a subcutaneous injection of 17 beta-estradiol and oxytocin were found normal and active.
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PMID:Maintenance of pregnancy in rabbits treated with long-lasting progestins. 685 82

Of the 587 neonates born in ABUTH, Zaria, Nigeria and successfully followed up, 99 were clinically jaundiced (16.9%). Of these, only 38 (38%) had significant hyperbilirubinaemia (serum bilirubin above 170 umol/L). During the same period, 279 neonates were admitted through Emergency Paediatric Unit (EPU) of whom 70 (25%) were jaundiced and 64 (95%) of them had serum bilirubin above 170 umol/L. Jaundice was more severe and the incidence of kernicterus higher in babies born outside the hospital than in those born in hospital and periodically followed up. The incidence of kernicterus was 20.3% and 2.6% respectively. The pattern of aetiological factors was similar in the two groups of jaundiced neonates. Septicaemia (50%) and G6PD deficiency (40%) were the major aetiological factors. Exposure to traditional herbal medications, oxytocin induced/augmented labour, cephalhaematoma and tribal incidences did not play statistically significant roles. Jaundice due to Rh-incompatibility was not encountered. Results of this double prospective study were compared with the previous findings in this and other centres in Nigeria.
West Afr J Med
PMID:Neonatal jaundice in Zaria, Nigeria--a second prospective study. 762 27

The study concerned 664 women of South-West Finland, and they were studied 5-12 weeks after delivery. The total frequency of mastitis in this population was much higher than generally reported in literature, 24% as opposed to 3%. The frequency of mastitis was similar among nulli- and multiparous women. The diagnosis was based on the judgement of midwives of physicians. If a multiparous woman has had mastitis during a previous puerperium, the probability of mastitis during a subsequent puerperium is threefold. The type of skin, its reaction of the sun, allergies, rashes, getting cold and oxytocin medication during delivery did nto affect the incidence of mastitis. Mothers under 21 and over 35 years of age had a decreased incidence (P = 0.034) of mastitis. If the women had sore nipples, the frequency increased (P = 0.003). Prophylaxis, by means of physical training, neither decreased nor increased the frequency of puerperal mastitis. The treatment advised by midwives and physicians was primarily conservative, but 38% received antibiotics; some of the antibiotics were not effective against staphylococcal infection.
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PMID:Mastitis today: incidence, prevention and treatment. 809 82

We investigated the effect of preinduction cervical ripening with the intracervical instillation of dinoprostone (prostaglandin E2 gel, 0.5 mg) on the results of labor induced with intravenous oxytocin. We randomly allocated 79 pregnant women to receive either the intracervial application of dinoprostone gel or placebo gel. Compared with control subjects, the group who received dinoprostone had no difference in induction-to-delivery interval or in cesarean section rate. The dinoprostone group had fewer failed inductions, but there was no difference between the two groups in the number who delivered spontaneously within 24 hours. From review of the literature and a meta-analysis, it was likewise revealed that dinoprostone did not favorably affect the cesarean section rate. Contrary to current opinion, intracervical dinoprostone gel does not appreciably lower the cesarean section rate when used at this dose and route before labor is induced.
West J Med 1993 Aug
PMID:Prevention of cesarean section. Does intracervical dinoprostone work? 812 17

A double-blind clinical trial was conducted to determine if misoprostol (exogenous prostaglandin E1 PGE1) used vaginally was of value in improving the Bishop score, leading to an early safe vaginal delivery in women in whom the cervix is unripe and delivery is indicated. 45 women were selected from the antenatal ward and clinic of the University Hospital of the West Indies. All were women in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy who had an indication for induction, an unripe cervix, and no contraindication to prostaglandins. The women were randomly assigned to receive treatment or a placebo. The treated group had 100 mcg misoprostol inserted vaginally, while the placebo was similarly inserted. Efficacy of the misoprostol was measured by the increase in the Bishop score 12 hours after giving the treatment, the time between insertion and delivery, the need for oxytocin, and the outcome of the pregnancy. The prostaglandin was superior to the placebo in ripening the cervix and inducing labor. The change in Bishop score was 5.3 in the misoprostol group compared with 1.5 in the placebo group (P0.001). 8% of patients had no change in their Bishop score in the misoprostol group compared to 62% in the placebo group (P0.001). The mean time from insertion to delivery was 15.6 hours in the former while it was 43.2 hours in the placebo group (P=0.001). 29% of women receiving misoprostol needed oxytocin compared with 62% of those who received the placebo (P0.02). There was no difference in the 2 groups in the delivery outcome in terms of complications, Apgar scores, and mode of delivery. There were no significant changes in maternal vital signs in both groups. Fetal distress, as evidenced by the presence of meconium stained amniotic fluid or fetal tachycardia, was similar in both groups. Polystole (more than 5 contractions in 10 minutes occurred in 1 woman in the misoprostol group. Extra-amniotic misoprostol is a cheap, effective, and safe prostaglandin for cervical ripening.
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PMID:Intravaginal misoprostol as a cervical ripening agent. 836 46

We have previously shown that prostaglandin F2alpha (PG) is capable of inducing nest-building behaviour in pseudopregnant gilts and established a protocol. This experiment examined which reproductive endocrine systems might mediate these behavioural responses, in the presence or absence of a space restriction stress. Pseudopregnancy was induced with 5 mg/day i.m. (intramuscular) injections of oestradiol valerate (OV) on Days 11-15 of the oestrous cycle, jugular vein catheters were placed on Day 39 of pseudopregnancy, and blood samples were collected daily from Day 40 to Day 48. On Day 42, gilts were either space restricted to farrowing crates 1.6 x 0.6 m (C: n = 11) or left in pens 2.8 x 1.74 m (P: n = 11). On Day 47, blood samples were collected from all animals every 15 min from 90 min prior to a single i.m. injection of 15 mg of prostaglandin F2alpha (PG: Lutalyse, Upjohn, Crowley, West Sussex) to 120 min post-PG and then hourly for 4 h and assayed for oxytocin, prolactin, progesterone, and oestradiol. Results showed that mean daily concentrations of prolactin and progesterone were significantly lower (p < 0.05 respectively) in C than P gilts from Day 42 to Day 46 of pseudopregnancy. There were no significant differences in mean daily concentrations of oxytocin and oestradiol between C and P gilts during this time. For both groups, oxytocin, prolactin, and progesterone concentrations increased significantly (p < 0.05) post-PG when compared to their respective pre-PG values. However, for both groups, oestradiol concentrations were unaffected by PG injection. The prostaglandin-induced increases in oxytocin, prolactin, and progesterone concentrations did not differ between groups. We conclude that coincident changes in oestradiol secretion does not influence nesting behaviour and that space restriction stress associated with nest-building does not influence secretion of oxytocin, prolactin, oestradiol, or progesterone.
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PMID:Prostaglandin F2alpha-induced nest-building in pseudopregnant pigs. II. Space restriction stress does not influence secretion of oxytocin, prolactin, oestradiol or progesterone. 933 3

Infant massage by the mother has been popular in many cultures, especially India, and is growing in popularity in the West. Mothers with postnatal depression often have problems interacting with their infants. A small controlled study has shown that attending a massage class can help such mothers relate better to their babies. The mechanisms by which this is achieved are not clear but may include learning to understand their babies' cues and the release of oxytocin.
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PMID:Benefits of infant massage for mothers with postnatal depression. 1261 2


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