The effects of topiramate on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced proinflammatory cytokine release from primary rat microglial cell cultures.

A growing body of evidence suggests that inflammatory processes and activation of glial cells could contribute to seizures and epileptogenesis. In various animal studies on epilepsy, proinflammatory cytokines have been demonstrated to exert a proconvulsive activity. On the other hand, it is suggested that antiepileptic drugs could modulate immune system activity.

Cytotoxic Activity of Pyrovalerone Derivatives, an Emerging Group of Psychostimulant Designer Cathinones.

The growing popularity of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) has aroused the concerns of public health specialists. The pyrovalerone derivatives are a branch of synthetic cathinones, a very popular group of psychostimulant NPS. Despite numerous case reports of fatal intoxications, little is known about the cytotoxicity of these substances.

[Narcolepsy: etiology, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment].

 Narcolepsy is a chronic hypersomnia characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and manifestations of disrupted rapid eye movement sleep stage (cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations). Mechanisms underlying narcolepsy are not fully understood. Experimental data indicate that the disease is caused by a loss of hypocretin neurons in the hypothalamus, likely due to an autoimmune process triggered by environmental factors in susceptible individuals.

Activation of orexin/hypocretin type 1 receptors stimulates cAMP synthesis in primary cultures of rat astrocytes.

The effects of orexins, which are also named hypocretins, on cAMP formation were examined in primary cultures of rat astrocytes. Orexin A, an agonist of OX₁ and OX₂ receptors, stimulated cAMP production with an EC₅₀ value of 0.68 μM and potentiated the forskolin-induced increase in the nucleotide synthesis.

Orexins/hypocretins acting at Gi protein-coupled OX 2 receptors inhibit cyclic AMP synthesis in the primary neuronal cultures.

Orexins A and B are newly discovered neuropeptides with pleiotropic activity. They signal through two G protein-coupled receptors: OX(1) and OX(2). In this study, we examined the expression of orexin receptors and effects of the receptors' activation on cyclic AMP formation in the primary neuronal cell cultures from rat cerebral cortex.

Histamine-induced cyclic AMP formation in the chick hypothalamus: interaction with vasoactive intestinal peptide.

Effects of histamine (HA) on cyclic AMP production and its action upon the effects evoked by vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) were studied in the chick hypothalamus. HA (0.1-1000 microM) potently stimulated cyclic AMP formation in the hypothalamic slices, reaching maximal effect (2.

Histamine H(2) -like receptors in chick cerebral cortex: effects on cyclic AMP synthesis and characterization by [(3) H]tiotidine binding.

In this study, histamine (HA) receptors in chick cerebral cortex were characterized using two approaches: (1) analysis of the effects of HA-ergic drugs on the cAMP-generating system, and (2) radioreceptor binding of [(3) H]tiotidine, a selective H(2) antagonist. HA was a weak activator of adenylyl cyclase in a crude membrane preparation of chick cerebrum. On the other hand, HA (0.