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Biomedical subjects

R H Roth

Publications and source records attributed to R H Roth.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Unilateral transplantation of human fetal mesencephalic tissue into the caudate nucleus of patients with Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease is characterized by the loss of midbrain dopamine neurons that innervate the caudate and the putamen. Studies in animals suggest that fetal dopaminergic neurons can survive transplantation and restore neurologic function. This report compares the clinical results in four case patients with severe Parkinson's disease who underwent stereotaxic implantation of human fetal ventral mesencephalic tissue in one caudate nucleus with the results in a control group of similar subjects assigned at random to a one-year delay in surgery. METHODS: Each case patient received cryopreserved tissue from one fetal cadaver (gestational age, 7 to 11 weeks). Before implantation, adjacent midbrain tissue underwent microbiologic, biochemical, and viability testing. Cyclosporine was administered for six months postoperatively. RESULTS: The procedure was well tolerated. Three case patients showed bilateral improvement on motor tasks, as assessed on videotape, and were more functional in the activities of daily living, as assessed by themselves and neurologists, during both optimal drug therapy and "drug holiday" periods. One case patient, who died after four months from continued disease progression, had striatonigral degeneration at autopsy. In the patients who received transplants, optimal control was achieved with a lower dose of antiparkinsonian medications, whereas the controls required more medication. Positron-emission tomography with [18F]fluorodopa before and after surgery in one patient revealed a bilateral restoration of caudate dopamine synthesis to the range of normal controls, but continued bilateral deficits in the putamen. CONCLUSIONS: Although the case patients continued to be disabled by their disease, unilateral intracaudate grafts of fetal tissue containing dopamine diminished the symptoms and signs of parkinsonism during 18 months of evaluation.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1992

Low levels of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity in neocortex resected from presumed seizure foci in epileptic patients.

The concentration of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SS-LI) was determined by radioimmunoassay in neocortical tissue resected from 20 patients with pharmacologically intractable complex partial seizures. Most resections included either the anterior temporal pole neocortex (15 cases) or cingulate gyrus neocortex (3 cases). The concentration of SS-LI was lowest in cortical tissue immediately adjacent to cortical tumors. Preoperative electrical recordings suggested that this tissue was the seizure focus. In vitro recordings showed that this tissue also exhibited abnormal hyperexcitable synaptic responses. Higher levels of SS-LI, similar to normal values previously reported in human cortex, were present in non-focal temporal neocortical tissue (resected from patients in whom the seizure focus was in the ipsilateral hippocampus) in which no hyperexcitable synaptic activity was present in vitro. The functional loss of inhibitory transmitters suggested by the low SS-LI levels might provide a theoretical basis for the hyperexcitability observed in vivo and in vitro.

Cerebral Cortex↗
PubMed1992

Regulation of excitatory amino acid release by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in rat striatum: in vivo microdialysis studies.

The microdialysis technique was utilized to study the effects of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor ligands on the in vivo release of endogenous glutamate (Glu) and aspartate (Asp) from the rat striatum. Addition of NMDA (250 and 500 microM) to the dialysis perfusion solution resulted in a striking dose-dependent increase in extracellular concentrations of Glu and Asp in the striatum. The NMDA-induced effects were reduced in a dose-related way by prior perfusion with 75 microM dizocilpine (MK-801), a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist. MK-801, at 75 microM, produced no changes on basal levels of Glu and Asp. However, 100 microM MK-801 did increase Glu and Asp extracellular concentrations. Local infusion with 500 microM D-serine, an agonist at the glycine site associated to the NMDA receptor, significantly increased basal level of Glu, but not Asp. Such D-serine-induced effects were reduced by 7-Cl-kynurenic acid (200 microM), a selective blocker of the glycine site present in the NMDA receptor. It is proposed that activation of NMDA receptors by endogenous Glu and Asp enhances the subsequent release of these excitatory amino acids in the striatum. Part of these NMDA receptors might be located presynaptically on cortico-striatal nerve endings. In addition, postsynaptic NMDA receptors present in the striatum may also indirectly modulate the release of Glu and Asp, through trans-synaptic mechanism.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Effects of CNS stimulants on the in vivo release of the colocalized transmitters, dopamine and neurotensin, from rat prefrontal cortex.

The effect of CNS stimulant drugs on the in vivo release of the colocalized neurotransmitters dopamine and neurotensin in rat prefrontal cortex was studied using microdialysis. Amphetamine, methylphenidate and nomifensine all increased extracellular fluid (ECF) levels of dopamine; however, their effects of neurotensin varied. Amphetamine increased both ECF dopamine (514 +/- 82% of basal) and neurotensin (350 +/- 49% of basal); however, the neurotensin increase lagged behind the increase in dopamine suggesting a possible trans-synaptic effect. Methylphenidate increased both dopamine and neurotensin (226 +/- 26% and 151 +/- 14% of basal respectively) co-synchronously, suggesting exocytosis of vesicles containing both dopamine and neurotensin. The nomifensine-induced increase in dopamine (202 +/- 23% of basal) was similar to that of methylphenidate, whereas the increase in neurotensin was significantly delayed and of lower magnitude (134 +/- 20% of basal). These data suggest that dopamine and neurotensin in part share a common releaseable pool in the prefrontal cortex. Moreover, dopamine may act presynaptically to increase neurotensin release and the different behavioral profiles of these psychostimulants may in part relate to their different effects on neurotensin release.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1992

Regulation of the prefrontal cortical dopamine system by the neuroactive steroid 3a,21-dihydroxy-5a-pregnane-20-one.

The dopamine innervation of the prefrontal cortex can be differentiated from other telencephalic dopamine projection fields by its sensitivity to stress. The stress-induced activation of the mesoprefrontal cortical dopamine system can be blocked by pretreatment with benzodiazepines. A group of neuroactive steroids that modulate GABA-induced chloride flux through means distinct from that of the benzodiazepines has recently been identified. Intraventricular administration of the neuroactive steroid 3 alpha,21-dihydroxy-5 alpha-pregnane-20-one resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in dopamine metabolites in the prefrontal cortex, but not in mesolimbic or striatal sites; sedative effects were not observed. Moreover, the neuroactive steroid selectively attenuated the stress-induced activation of the mesoprefrontal cortical dopamine system. These data suggest that neuroactive steroids may function as endogenous anxiolytic agents.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1992

Autoradiographic localization of dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in rat cerebral cortex following unilateral neurotoxic lesions.

Relative to dopaminergic innervation of cortex, dopamine D1 and D2 receptors may be located on presynaptic terminals and/or postsynaptically on cortical neurons. To assess the relative distribution of these sites, quantitative in vitro receptor autoradiography was performed following injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the median forebrain bundle (MFB; which lesions presynaptic DA terminals) and ibotenic acid into the prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices (which lesions neurons whose cell bodies are intrinsic to cortex). Receptor autoradiography was performed ten days after injection of neurotoxins with [3H]SCH 23390 (a D1 probe) and [125I]epidepride (a D2 probe). Both DA receptor subtypes were found in all layers of anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortices but were concentrated in deeper layers V and VI. Ibotenic acid lesion of cortex reduced D1 and D2 receptors by 55-80%, although the concentrations of DA and its major metabolite dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were unchanged. Lesion of MFB produced no significant change in D1 and D2 receptors, but was associated with a 49-52% decrease in DA and DOPAC levels relative to the contralateral side. These results suggest that the majority of D1 and D2 receptors in prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices are located postsynaptically on neurons intrinsic to the cortex.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1992

Biochemical and behavioral recovery in a rodent model of Parkinson's disease following stereotactic implantation of dopamine-containing liposomes.

We have developed and characterized dopamine-containing liposomes which exhibited in vitro sustained release of dopamine for over 40 days. These liposomes were stereotactically implanted into the partially denervated corpus striatum of rats subjected to unilateral lesions of the substantia nigra. In vivo release of dopamine into striatal extracellular fluid was monitored by microdialysis and behavior was assessed by quantifying apomorphine-induced asymmetric rotation. Extracellular dopamine levels in the partially denervated striatum of the dopamine liposome-treated rats were greater than the levels in the lesioned rats which received control liposomes and these levels remained elevated for 25 days. In parallel, those rats which received dopamine liposomes exhibited partial behavioral recovery, with attenuation of asymmetric rotation following systemic apomorphine administration. These results suggest that dopamine-containing liposomes can partially ameliorate the deficits associated with a rodent model of Parkinson's disease, and demonstrate the potential of this technology as a method for the controlled delivery of therapeutic agents into discrete areas of the brain.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Effects of 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the prefrontal cortex on tyrosine hydroxylase activity in mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine systems.

The effects of prefrontal cortical dopamine depletion on subcortical dopamine function in the rat were examined. 6-Hydroxydopamine lesions of the dopaminergic innervation of the prefrontal cortex did not alter concentrations of dopamine or its metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in either the striatum or nucleus accumbens. Similarly, the activity of the catecholamine biosynthetic enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase in the striatal complex was not changed in animals with prefrontal cortical lesions. Animals sustaining neurotoxic lesions of the prefrontal cortex were challenged with haloperidol in order to activate submaximally tyrosine hydroxylase activity. The magnitude of the haloperidol-induced increase in enzyme activity in the nucleus accumbens was significantly greater in lesioned subjects than in control animals. These data suggest that lesions of the prefrontal cortical dopamine innervation do not result in significant alterations in basal dopaminergic function in the striatal complex. However, lesions of the dopaminergic innervation of the prefrontal cortex significantly increase the responsiveness of mesolimbic dopamine afferents to pharmacological challenge.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1991

Guanine nucleotide binding proteins and the regulation of cyclic AMP synthesis in NS20Y neuroblastoma cells: role of D1 dopamine and muscarinic receptors.

D1 dopamine receptors on NS20Y neuroblastoma cells stimulate adenylate cyclase activity, whereas muscarinic receptors on the same cells negatively regulate adenylate cyclase. To determine the mechanisms which underlie these processes, cyclic AMP accumulation was measured in intact cells following either cholera or pertussis toxin treatment. Pretreatment with pertussis toxin (100 ng/ml), which ribosylated greater than 95% of inhibitory quinine nucleotide binding protein (Gi), caused the complete loss of muscarinic induced inhibition. Conversely, pertussis toxin did not affect the ability of dihydrexidine (1 microM, a full efficacy D1 agonist), PGE1 (100 nM), or forskolin (1 microM, a direct activator) to stimulate cAMP accumulation. Both the dihydrexidine-induced stimulation and the carbachol-induced inhibition of cyclic AMP accumulation were unaffected by either removal of extracellular calcium, or increased intracellular calcium caused by the addition of the calcium ionophore A23187. Cholera toxin dose- and time-dependently induced large accumulations of cAMP. At low cholera toxin concentrations, the effects of dihydrexidine (300 nM) were additive with those of cholera toxin. At cholera toxin concentrations greater than 100 ng/ml, dihydrexidine became ineffective in stimulating further cAMP synthesis. Conversely, forskolin (1 microM) still caused marked increases in cAMP accumulation after all cholera toxin treatments. Dihydrexidine-stimulated cAMP accumulation was additive with forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation at low forskolin concentrations (10 nM-3 microM), but synergistic at high concentrations (3-100 microM). Additionally, forskolin was much more potent after cholera toxin treatment, suggesting that an activated stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding protein (Gs) may be required for full activation of adenylate cyclase by forskolin in this cell type.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenylate Cyclase Toxin↗
PubMed1991

Effects of haloperidol administration on in vivo extracellular dopamine in striatum and prefrontal cortex after partial dopamine lesions.

The effects of haloperidol on striatal and prefrontal cortical extracellular fluid dopamine (DA) concentrations were examined in sham-operated control rats and in rats which had received partial lesions of their dopamine systems. In control rats haloperidol administration produced increases in extracellular fluid DA concentrations in both the striatum and prefrontal cortex. However, in rats which had been partially lesioned with intracerebroventricular 6-hydroxydopamine, haloperidol produced an increase in extracellular fluid DA concentration in the prefrontal cortex but failed to alter striatal DA release. These data suggest that nigrostriatal and mesocortical DA neurons have different response capabilities following partial DA lesions.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Grafting of fetal substantia nigra to striatum reverses behavioral deficits induced by MPTP in primates: a comparison with other types of grafts as controls.

Fetal substantia nigra (SN) cells were transplanted into the caudate nucleus (CN) of four vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) that had been treated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). MPTP treatment appears to produce a syndrome similar to that observed in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Normal and parkinsonian behaviors were quantitated by trained observers 5 days/week. Twenty-eight behaviors based on previous factor analyses were individually scored and rated. Parkinsonian signs included freezing, head and limb tremor, difficulty in eating, delayed initiation of movement, poverty of movement, tremor that stopped with intention, decreased response to threats, and lying immobile in the cage. These signs were combined to give an overall rating of parkinsonism. A summary measure of 'normal' healthy behavior was also examined, including such behaviors as yawning, scratching, self-grooming, shifting, and eating. Overall ratings of parkinsonism increased and those of healthy behavior decreased after MPTP. In the 4 monkeys grafted with fetal SN cells into the CN, behavior returned to pre-treatment levels by the time of sacrifice (2, 5, or 7.5 months after grafting). Three control subjects were transplanted with either SN cells into an inappropriate brain site (cortex) or inappropriate, non-dopaminergic, cells (cerebellar) into the CN. Subjects were also compared with three control animals that did not receive MPTP but received cryopreserved or fresh SN and other cells into the CN. Only MPTP-treated subjects that received SN cells into the CN showed evidence of a reversal of the MPTP syndrome after transplantation. In addition, grafting in animals that were not MPTP-treated did not appear to affect behavior. This paper reports the specific behavioral effects of severe MPTP toxicity that were or were not reversed after transplantation and suggests that only fetal SN cells grafted into the CN may be able to reverse behavioral deficits in MPTP-treated monkeys.

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine↗
PubMed1991

Yohimbine co-treatment during chronic morphine administration attenuates naloxone-precipitated withdrawal without diminishing tail-flick analgesia in rats.

Noradrenergic neuronal hyperactivity following chronic morphine administration has been postulated to cause withdrawal signs and symptoms. Suppression of this hyperactivity, for example, by clonidine attenuates withdrawal. It might follow, therefore, that the prevention of suppression of noradrenergic systems during chronic morphine administration might diminish hyperactivity and prevent withdrawal. If the normalization of noradrenergic activity during opioid administration did not also suppress analgesia, it might be of medical and theoretical interest. To test this hypothesis, we gave the alpha-2-antagonist yohimbine to rats in order to increase noradrenergic activity during morphine treatment and then subsequently precipitated morphine withdrawal with naloxone. Six groups were examined: saline controls (N = 11), morphine (N = 11), morphine + 2.0 mg/kg/day yohimbine (N = 15), morphine + 3.0 mg/kg/day yohimbine (N = 5), 2.0 mg/kg/day yohimbine (N = 11) and 3.0 mg/kg/day yohimbine (N = 5). Subjects received 75 mg morphine pellets implanted on day 1,4 and 6 of the treatment or sham implantation. Yohimbine was delivered throughout the morphine treatment by subcutaneously implanted osmotic pumps. On day 7, all subjects were given 1.0 mg/kg naloxone and rated for behavioral signs of withdrawal. Analgesia was measured by observing tail flick latencies (TFL) before and after chronic drug treatments. Naloxone-precipitated withdrawal was characterized by irritability, ptosis, penile erection, diarrhea, rhinorrhea, abnormal posture, wet-dog shakes, jumping, and teeth chattering, none of which were observed in groups receiving only saline or yohimbine. Withdrawal behavior was attenuated in a dose-dependent manner when yohimbine was administered during morphine treatment but analgesia was not attenuated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Analgesics↗
PubMed1991

Cocaethylene: a neuropharmacologically active metabolite associated with concurrent cocaine-ethanol ingestion.

High concentrations of cocaethylene (EC), the ethyl ester of benzoylecgonine, were measured in the blood of individuals who had concurrently used cocaine and ethanol. Since the powerful reinforcing effects of cocaine appear to be dependent on inhibition of dopamine reuptake in brain, we compared the effects of EC on the dopamine uptake system and its behavioral effects with those of cocaine. EC was equipotent to cocaine with respect to inhibition of binding of [3H]GBR 12935 to the dopamine reuptake complex, inhibition of [3H]dopamine uptake into synaptosomes and in its ability to increase extracellular dopamine concentration in the nucleus accumbens following its systemic administration to rats. Moreover, in rats, EC and cocaine each increased locomotor activity and rearing to the same extent following i.p. administration. In self-administration studies in primates, EC was approximately equipotent to cocaine in maintaining responding. The in vivo formation of this active, transesterified ethyl homolog of cocaine may contribute to the effects and consequences of combined cocaine and ethanol abuse.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1991

The D1 receptor antagonist, SCH 23390, induces signs of parkinsonism in African green monkeys.

Systemic administration of the selective D1 antagonist, SCH 23390, caused significant motor changes in healthy African green monkeys. The effects included the parkinsonian signs of motor freezing, incoordination, bradykinesia, poverty of movement, tremor and depressed blink rate. SCH 23390 administered to MPTP-treated monkeys increased existing parkinsonism. The results are of particular interest in light of recent data that demonstrate the effectiveness of dihydrexidine, a full D1 agonist, in alleviating parkinsonism in MPTP-treated monkeys. These data implicate D1 receptors in the functions impaired by Parkinson's disease and suggest the possibility of parkinsonian side effects in the clinical use of this or similar D1 antagonists as treatments for psychiatric disorders.

Analysis of Variance↗