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Biomedical subjects

M Briley

Publications and source records attributed to M Briley.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Effects of four non-cholinergic cognitive enhancers in comparison with tacrine and galanthamine on scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats.

Amnesia can be induced in rats in the passive avoidance paradigm by administration of scopolamine, a central muscarinic receptor antagonist. Tacrine or galanthamine, inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase, given in conjunction with scopolamine partially reversed the scopolamine-induced deficit in passive avoidance performance. Four so-called cognitive enhancers, all widely used for the treatment of the symptoms associated with mental aging, cerebral insufficiency and senile memory disorder, were investigated in this paradigm. Piracetam, an extract of Ginkgo biloba, dihydroergocristine and a combination of raubasine with dihydroergocristine, all attenuated the amnesia induced by scopolamine. In contrast, nicergoline had no significant effect. Raubasine alone also failed to significantly attenuate scopolamine-induced amnesia, although some doses of raubasine had a non-significant tendency (P less than 0.10) to reduce the amnesia.

Amnesia↗
PubMed1992

Effects of prolonged administration of milnacipran, a new antidepressant, on receptors and monoamine uptake in the brain of the rat.

Most antidepressants produce changes in monoamine receptors in brain after chronic administration in animals. The most commonly described alterations are a decreased density and function of beta-adrenergic receptors and have been postulated to be the mechanisms by which antidepressants exert their therapeutic effect. Milnacipran (previous name midalcipran) is a new, clinically-effective antidepressant, which inhibits the uptake of both serotonin and noradrenaline but has no affinity for any pre- or postsynaptic receptor studied. When given either orally at 7.5 mg/kg twice daily for 3 days, at 30 mg/kg once daily for 3 weeks, by osmotic mini-pump at 30 mg/kg/day for 27 days, or in drinking water at approximately 15 mg/kg/day for 6 weeks and after a washout period of 24 hr, milnacipran produced no down-regulation of beta-adrenoceptors. In addition, there were no alterations of alpha 1- or alpha 2-adrenoceptors, 5-HT1, 5-HT2 receptors or benzodiazepine binding sites. Moreover, uptake and accumulation of serotonin and noradrenaline were unmodified. In addition, the potency for milnacipran to inhibit monoamine uptake in vitro in the cortex was not altered in treated rats, compared to control animals. Thus, in spite of its action on both the uptake of serotonin and noradrenaline, milnacipran appears to be without long-term action on beta-adrenoceptors or the other receptors studied, suggesting that, at least for this antidepressant, these modifications are not essential for clinical activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Effect of antidepressant drugs on monoamine synthesis in brain in vivo.

The activity of tryptophan and tyrosine hydroxylase were estimated in vivo by measuring the accumulation during 30 min of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), respectively, after inhibition of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase by administration of m-hydroxybenzylhydrazine (NSD 1015) (100 mg/kg, i.p.). Whereas the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase in the dopamine-rich striatum was sensitive to haloperidol, which caused a significant increase in accumulation of DOPA, there was no effect of haloperidol in the predominantly noradrenergic frontoparietal cortex, confirming that the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, measured in the frontoparietal cortex, is essentially localized in noradrenergic neurones. In the frontoparietal cortex of the rat the in vivo activity of tryptophan and tyrosine hydroxylase were equipotently attenuated by imipramine, while the selective blocker of the uptake of noradrenaline, desipramine and the selective blocker of the uptake of serotonin, citalopram, reduced only tyrosine or tyrosine hydroxylase respectively. Milnacipran, an antidepressant which inhibits the uptake of both monoamines to a similar extent, decreased the synthesis of both monoamines equipotently. The monoamine oxidase inhibitor, clorgyline, also reduced the synthesis of both monoamines. Thus, the in vivo inhibition of the synthesis of monoamines would appear to be mediated by an increase in synaptic concentration of monoamines, resulting from the inhibition of the uptake or catabolism of monoamines. Chronic administration of citalopram led to a significant increase of the basal synthesis of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). Milnacipran, given chronically, significantly enhanced the basal synthesis of both 5-HT and noradrenaline (NA).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Specific tricyclic antidepressant binding sites in rat brain.

The discovery of high-affinity binding sites for psychoactive drugs such as benzodiazepines, opiates and neuroleptics has opened up new approaches to the study of these drugs and their mechanisms of action. Although most tricyclic antidepressants inhibit neuronal uptake of noradrenaline and serotonin, their mechanism of action remains unclear. Changes in the sensitivity of the beta-receptor after chronic tricyclic antidepressant treatment suggest that they modulate noradrenergic neurotransmission. Tricyclic antidepressants also act directly on cholinergic, histaminergic, alpha-adrenergic and serotonergic receptors. It is not clear, however, which, if any, of these effects are related to the primary antidepressant effect or whether they are simply responsible for some of the side effects. We have thus investigated the possibility that specific binding sites for tricyclic antidepressants exist in the central nervous system. So far, binding studies using 3H-labelled tricyclic antidepressant drugs have only detected binding to histaminergic H2 and cholinergic muscarinic receptors and low-affinity binding. We demonstrate here a population of specific high-affinity binding sites for 3H-imipramine on brain membranes which may be responsible for the antidepressant effects of these drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Specific labelling of postsynaptic alpha 1 adrenoceptors in rat heart ventricle by 3H-WB 4101.

The alpha-adrenoceptor ligand, 3H-WB 4101 binds to a single population of independent sites in the rat heart ventricle. These sites are not affected by chemical sympathectomy with 6-hydroxydopamine and thus appear to be located postsynaptically. The relative order of potencies for displacement of 3H-WB 4101 binding:prazosin greater than phentolamine greater than yohimbine, is characteristic of that of the alpha 1 type of adrenoceptors. In heart ventricle 3H WB-4101 thus seems to label specifically postsynaptically located alpha 1-adrenoceptors. The significance of the specificity of this ligand is discussed with relevance to its use in the central nervous system.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Monoaminergic receptors and hypotheses of the mechanisms of action of 2nd generation antidepressive agents].

The inhibition of the serotonin and/or noradrenalin reuptake is often given as the mechanism of action of antidepressants. This may be true but it's certainly wrong! The diversity of chemical structure and pharmacological profiles of second generation antidepressants shows that the biochemical property that is the most often found is the inhibition of the uptake of 5-HT and/or NA. The difference of the kinetics between the inhibition of the monoamine reuptake and the antidepressant effect is only one of the reasons to believe that the real mechanism of their antidepressant action is elsewhere. The different hypotheses that have been proposed will be examined.

Animals↗