PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

K Kolasa

Publications and source records attributed to K Kolasa.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Seizures selectively impair agonist-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis without affecting protein kinase C activity in rat brain.

The influence of seizures on phosphoinositide hydrolysis and protein kinase C activity was measured in rat hippocampus and cerebral cortex, primarily using a model in which generalized convulsive status epilepticus was induced by administration of LiCl (3 mmole/kg) 20 hr prior to pilocarpine (30 mg/kg). A short (5 min) period of seizures reduced phosphoinositide hydrolysis in hippocampal slices stimulated by norepinephrine or ibotenate, but did not alter the responses to carbachol, 50 mM K+, or NaF. Induction of seizures with diisopropylfluorophosphate caused a similar reduction in the response to norepinephrine without altering carbachol-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis. The inhibition of norepinephrine-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis after seizures generated by lithium plus pilocarpine administration was apparently not due to inhibitory influences of quisqualate or activation of protein kinase C since both of these treatments caused similar inhibitions in slices from control and treated rats. Seizures induced by lithium plus pilocarpine or by kainate did not alter the activity of protein kinase C or the distribution of protein kinase C between membrane and cytosolic fractions. Thus, seizures cause a neurotransmitter-selective impairment of phosphoinositide hydrolysis, and this response may play a role in the severity or duration of seizure activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Pica practices of pregnant women.

This report summarizes current knowledge about pica practices during pregnancy through a systematic review of the literature for the period 1950 through 1990. Pica behavior was considered in terms of its prevalence, risk factors, clinical profile, and effect on pregnancy outcome. Data on pica practices by pregnant women are limited and inconclusive but reveal several interesting relationships. The prevalence of pica among pregnant women in high-risk groups declined between the 1950s and the 1970s but now remains steady, affecting about one fifth of high-risk women. Women at high risk of pica are more likely to be black, to live in rural areas, and to have a positive childhood and family history of pica. The clinical picture of the disorder during pregnancy is not well described. The evidence suggests that pica during pregnancy results in anemia, but it is not definitive. Pica also has been associated with maternal and perinatal mortality. We conclude that the behavior is more prevalent than commonly believed, shows no sign of further decline, and may have serious effects, particularly anemia, on mother and infant. Dietetic practitioners who counsel pregnant women should ask questions about pica when they conduct nutrition assessments of their clients.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1990

Treatment with oxiracetam or choline restores cholinergic biochemical and pharmacological activities in striata of decorticated rats.

Interruption of the corticostriatal pathway by undercutting the frontal cortex resulted after 2 weeks in a 40% reduction of basal acetylcholine (ACh) release in vivo, and in inhibition of the striatal sodium-dependent high-affinity uptake of choline (SDHACU) to the same extent. The lesion, too, completely prevented the rise (about 35%) in striatal ACh content induced by oxotremorine and apomorphine acting at muscarine and dopamine receptors, respectively. Acute intraperitoneal injections of 100 mg/kg of either oxiracetam or choline chloride resulted in time-dependent recovery of ACh output from the striata of decorticated rats to control levels. Oxiracetam also normalized the ex vivo striatal SDHACU activity of decorticated rats 2 h after administration without any effect in sham-operated rats. Oxiracetam or choline chloride administered before oxotremorine (0.8 mg/kg, i.p.) or apomorphine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) reinstated the ACh-increasing effect of these agonists. It is suggested that choline chloride acts directly simply by being the precursor for ACh, whereas oxiracetam may act indirectly, possibly by increasing the availability of choline chloride for ACh synthesis. Furthermore, the frontally decorticated rat could constitute a useful model for studying means to restore the deficit in striatal cholinergic neurotransmission.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1989

Mode of action of tiaspirone on the central cholinergic system.

Tiaspirone, a potential antipsychotic drug, reduced the acetylcholine content of rat hemispheric brain regions (striatum 35%, hippocampus 20%, cortex 32% with no effect on N. accumbens) at an oral dose of 40 mg/kg. Choline content was uniformly raised in the same brain regions. A kinetic study showed that the drug is evenly distributed in the brain. Tiaspirone's effects on acetylcholine and choline in the striatum were not related in time. The fall off (30-240 min) of tiaspirone's effect on choline content paralleled the decline in striatal drug concentration (t1/2 = 240 min) whereas that on acetylcholine did not. No tolerance was observed to an acute challenge with tiaspirone on acetylcholine and choline in the striatum after 11 days' subchronic treatment. In vitro the drug had no effect on striatal choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase activities up to a concentration of 300 microM. The muscarinic agonist oxotremorine did not interfere with the acetylcholine decrease produced by the drug suggesting that muscarinic receptors are not essential for this effect. Tiaspirone, however, was found to be a competitive, reversible inhibitor of the sodium-dependent high-affinity choline uptake (SDHACU) by crude hippocampal and striatal synaptosomal preparations, giving IC50 values of respectively 3.69 microM and 1.14 microM. The compound did not alter SDHACU ex vivo despite the fact that it readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and achieves brain concentrations equivalent to its in vitro IC50 concentration. Tiaspirone antagonized the striatal acetylcholine increasing effect of apomorphine, a selective dopaminergic receptor agonist, supporting the idea that the drug affects the striatal cholinergic system by a primary action on dopamine receptors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1985

Blockade of the diazepam-induced increase in rat striatal acetylcholine content by the specific benzodiazepine antagonists ethyl-beta-carboline-3-carboxylate and Ro 15-1788.

Diazepam increased the acetylcholine content in the striatum and the hippocampus of the rat. This effect was antagonized in both brain areas by treatment with the specific central benzodiazepine blockers ethyl-beta-carboline-3-carboxylate and Ro 15-1788, whereas the peripheral antagonist Ro 5-4864 was ineffective. Pretreatment with picrotoxin, a known GABA antagonist did not interfere with the diazepam-induced acetylcholine increase. These results indicate a specific involvement of benzodiazepine receptors in the cholinergic action of diazepam and this effect appears to be independent of GABA receptor activation.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1985

Computerized nutrient analysis for foodservice.

The need for computerized nutrient analysis does differ depending on the type of foodservice institution. Variation in the menu cycles, type of funding, experience with computers, number and type of clientéle fed, and the limited number of respondents affiliated with various institutions make it difficult to recommend a standard nutrient analysis software system. Additionally, the researchers frequently noted two obstacles to computerization of foodservice and nutrition departments: (a) respondents believe their institutions or departments are too small for computers, and (b) there is limited knowledge about computers and nutrient analysis. It is hoped that foodservice personnel can use the information from this study to learn of features available in nutrient analysis programs and that professionals can use it in designing and marketing nutrient analysis software.

Attitude↗
PubMed1983

Infant feeding practices and beliefs in one community in the Sierra of rural Ecuador: a prevalence study.

Infant feeding practices and beliefs of 54 women in one rural community in the Sierra of Ecuador are described. Breastfeeding was nearly universal, with a mean duration of 16.9 months: males were weaned gradually, which was significantly different from the sudden weaning of females. Infants' diets were supplemented at a mean 9.7 months; first food included soup, meat broth, oats, and grains. Males' diets were supplemented significantly earlier than females. Mothers reported 16 months as the best weaning age. The best age to begin supplementing breast or bottle was 8.8 months. Milk, soup, meat, oats, "all foods," and vitamins were believed to help produce breastmilk. Most mothers said they would give a bottle if they were unable to produce breastmilk.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Neurochemical effects of buspirone, a novel psychotropic drug, on the central cholinergic system.

Buspirone, a novel psychotropic anxioselective agent, produced a dose-dependent decrease in the level of acetylcholine in the striatum of the rat. The maximum effect of about 25-30% was produced at the dose of 20 mg kg-1. A smaller decrease of 10% was also found in the n. accumbens-olfactory tubercle while other brain regions were unaffected. The drug did not alter striatal choline acetyltransferase or acetylcholinesterase activities and was feeble in displacing [3H]dexetimide from its specific muscarinic binding sites. The effect of buspirone in lowering acetylcholine content was more marked and longer lasting in the striatum of female than male rats. Buspirone proved to be weak as a blocker of the dopamine receptor agonist, apomorphine, and it appears that only a small proportion of the decrease in striatal acetylcholine content can be attributed to the blockade of dopamine receptors. Rapid homologous tolerance to an acute challenge with buspirone on striatal acetylcholine was achieved within seven days of its chronic administration, and, unlike clozapine, a cross tolerance of buspirone to chronic haloperidol treatment was also observed. Other data indicating that the drug differed from haloperidol both qualitatively and quantitatively on dopaminergic neurochemical parameters, and the fact that it is not cataleptogenic, suggest that buspirone cannot be considered a typical neuroleptic agent. The possibility that buspirone may act as an agonist at certain presynaptic dopamine receptors, which could translate into a fall in striatal acetylcholine content, is discussed.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1981

Preliminary investigation on the central action of prostacyclin (PGI2) in rats.

Prostacyclin (PGI2) injected ivc in doses of 25 and 100 micrograms/rat increased body temperature, decreased spontaneous locomotor activity and amphetamine-induced locomotor hyperactivity in Wistar rats, in a dose of 100 micrograms inhibited apomorphine-induced stereotypy and potentiated haloperidol-induced catalepsy. PGI2 in both doses decreased noradrenaline level, in a dose of 100 micrograms it increased the cerebral level of dopamine but did not influence the utilization of these amines in the rat brain. PGI2 in a dose of 100 micrograms also increased the concentration of serotonin, but did not change the cerebral 5-hydroxyindoloacetic acid concentration.

Animals↗