Contribution of cyclooxygenase-1-dependent prostacyclin synthesis to bradykinin-induced dermal extravasation.

Background: Non-allergic angioedema is a potentially life-threatening condition caused by accumulation of bradykinin and subsequent activation of bradykinin type 2 receptors (B2). Since COX activity plays a pivotal role in B2 signaling, the aim of this study was to determine which prostaglandins are the key mediators and which COX, COX-1 or COX-2, is predominantly involved.

Methods: We used Miles assays to assess the effects of inhibitors of COX, 5-lipoxygenase, epoxyeicosatrienoic acid generation, cytosolic phospholipase Aα and a variety of prostaglandin receptor antagonists on bradykinin-induced dermal extravasation in C57BL/6 and COX-1-deficient mice (COX-1).

Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor by clozapine induces preadipocyte differentiation and contributes to endothelial dysfunction.

Background: The superior therapeutic benefit of clozapine is often associated with metabolic disruptions as obesity, insulin resistance, tachycardia, higher blood pressure, and even hypertension.

Aims: These adverse vascular/ metabolic events under clozapine are similar to those caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and clozapine shows structural similarity to well-known ligands of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Therefore, we speculated that the side effects caused by clozapine might rely on AhR signaling.

Index of Theta/Alpha Ratio of the Quantitative Electroencephalogram in Alzheimer's Disease: A Case-Control Study.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder in human beings associated with cognitive, behavioral and motor impairments. The main symptom of AD is dementia, which causes difficulties in carrying out daily practices. Brain waves are altered in people with AD.

Rapid determination of some psychotropic drugs in complex matrices by tandem dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by high performance liquid chromatography.

Simple and rapid determinations of some psychotropic drugs in some pharmaceutical wastewater and human plasma samples were successfully accomplished via the tandem dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection (TDLLME-HPLC-UV). TDLLME of the three psychotropic drugs clozapine, chlorpromazine, and thioridazine was easily performed through two consecutive dispersive liquid-liquid microextractions. By performing this convenient method, proper sample preconcentrations and clean-ups were achieved in just about 7min.

Application of tandem dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the determination of doxepin, citalopram, and fluvoxamine in complicated samples.

A new type of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction is used for the determination of doxepin, citalopram, and fluvoxamine in aqueous matrices. This method is based upon the tandem utilization of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, and by providing a high sample clean-up, it efficiently improves the applicability of the method in complicated matrices. For this purpose, in the first step, the analytes contained in an aqueous sample solution (8.

Effects of varenicline on alpha4-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expression and cognitive performance in mice.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtypes containing the α4 subunit, particularly α4β2 nAChRs, play an important role in cognitive functioning. The impact of the smoking cessation aid varenicline, a selective partial α4β2 nAChR agonist, on (1) changes of central protein and mRNA expression of this receptor and (2) on memory deficits in a mouse model of cognitive impairment was investigated. Protein and mRNA expression of both the α4 and β2 receptor subunits in mouse brain endothelial and hippocampal cells as well as hippocampus and neocortex tissues were determined by western blot and realtime PCR, respectively.