Publications by authors named "Laura Wise"

This case report describes a rare presentation of synchronous pathologies-sinonasal inverted papilloma (SIP) and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP)-in a 47-year-old man using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation for progressive obstructive sleep apnoea. As far as we know, this is the first case of concurrent SIP and RRP disease described in the literature. The patient initially presented for management of chronic rhinosinusitis symptoms.

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The atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine remains one of most effective treatments for schizophrenia, given a lack of extrapyramidal side effects, improvements in negative symptoms, cognitive impairment, and in symptoms in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. The adverse effects of clozapine, including agranulocytosis, make finding a safe clozapine-like a drug a goal for drug developers. The drug discrimination paradigm is a model of interoceptive stimulus that has been used in an effort to screen experimental drugs for clozapine-like atypical antipsychotic effects.

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A series of in vivo and in vitro assays were conducted to characterize the pharmacological effects of the first generation abused synthetic cannabinoid CP47,497, a racemic bicyclic cannabinoid that is similar in structure to the potent, high-efficacy synthetic cannabinoid CP55,940. CP47,497 was less efficacious than CP55,940 in activating G-proteins and dose-dependently produced common CB1 receptor-dependent pharmacological effects (i.e.

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Objectives: Little is known about the factors that affect the length of stay (LOS) of children hospitalized for perforated appendicitis. The objective of this study was to identify clinical and demographic factors associated with a prolonged LOS (PLOS) in children with perforated appendicitis.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the records of 197 children 0 to 17 years old with perforated appendicitis.

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Adolescence represents a unique developmental period associated with increased risk-taking behavior and experimentation with drugs of abuse, in particular nicotine. We hypothesized that exposure to nicotine during early adolescence might increase the risk for drug reward in adulthood. To test this hypothesis, male ICR mice were treated with a subchronic regimen of nicotine or saline during adolescence, and their preference for cocaine, morphine and amphetamine was examined using the conditioned place preference (CPP) test in adulthood.

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Serious clinical liabilities associated with the prescription of opiates for pain control include constipation, respiratory depression, pruritus, tolerance, abuse, and addiction. A recognized strategy to circumvent these side effects is to combine opioids with other antinociceptive agents. The combination of opiates with the primary active constituent of cannabis (Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol) produces enhanced antinociceptive actions, suggesting that cannabinoid receptor agonists can be opioid sparing.

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Inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) or monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), the primary hydrolytic enzymes for the respective endocannabinoids N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG), produces antinociception but with minimal cannabimimetic side effects. Although selective inhibitors of either enzyme often show partial efficacy in various nociceptive models, their combined blockade elicits augmented antinociceptive effects, but side effects emerge. Moreover, complete and prolonged MAGL blockade leads to cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) receptor functional tolerance, which represents another challenge in this potential therapeutic strategy.

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FTY720 (fingolimod), an FDA-approved drug for treatment of multiple sclerosis, has beneficial effects in the CNS that are not yet well understood, independent of its effects on immune cell trafficking. We show that FTY720 enters the nucleus, where it is phosphorylated by sphingosine kinase 2 (SphK2), and that nuclear FTY720-P binds and inhibits class I histone deacetylases (HDACs), enhancing specific histone acetylations. FTY720 is also phosphorylated in mice and accumulates in the brain, including the hippocampus, inhibits HDACs and enhances histone acetylation and gene expression programs associated with memory and learning, and rescues memory deficits independently of its immunosuppressive actions.

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The monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) inhibitor 4-nitrophenyl 4-(dibenzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl(hydroxy)methyl)piperidine-1-carboxylate (JZL184) produces antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects. However, repeated administration of high-dose JZL184 (40 mg/kg) causes dependence, antinociceptive tolerance, cross-tolerance to the pharmacological effects of cannabinoid receptor agonists, and cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) downregulation and desensitization. This functional CB1 receptor tolerance poses a hurdle in the development of MAGL inhibitors for therapeutic use.

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Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), including memory dysfunction, continue to be a major clinical manifestation of HIV type-1 infection. Viral proteins released by infected glia are thought to be the principal triggers of inflammation and bystander neuronal injury and death, thereby driving key symptomatology of HAND.

Methods: We used a glial fibrillary acidic protein-driven, doxycycline-inducible HIV type-1 transactivator of transcription (Tat) transgenic mouse model and examined structure-function relationships in hippocampal pyramidal cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) neurons using morphologic, electrophysiological (long-term potentiation [LTP]), and behavioral (Morris water maze, fear-conditioning) approaches.

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l-theanine, 2-amino-4-(ethylcarbamoyl) butyric acid, an amino acid found in green tea (Camellia sinensis), is sold in the United States as a dietary supplement to reduce stress and improve cognition and mood. The observations that l-theanine has been shown to inhibit caffeine's stimulatory effects and that caffeine produces precipitated withdrawal signs in opioid-addicted monkeys and some opioid withdrawal signs in some normal monkeys, suggest that l-theanine may suppress opioid withdrawal signs. Additionally, l-theanine produces anxiolytic effects in humans indicating that it has anti-anxiety properties.

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Acute administration of Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or exposure to marijuana smoke impairs short-term spatial memory in water maze tasks through a CB(1) receptor mechanism of action. N-Arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide; AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) are endogenous cannabinoids that are predominantly metabolized by the respective enzymes fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL). Although the MAGL inhibitor JZL184 enhances short-term synaptic plasticity, it has yet to be evaluated in the Morris water maze.

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Background: Use of synthetic "marijuana" has increased in recent years, produced adverse effects and prompted the temporary DEA ban of five specific cannabinoid analogs, including JWH-018. The objectives of the current study include determining the chemical content of the herbal product, Buzz, assessing its behavioral effects upon inhalation exposure to mice, determining whether CB(1) receptors mediate its pharmacological activity, and ascertaining its biodisposition in blood and various organs.

Methods: Using a nose-only exposure system, mice were exposed to smoke produced from combustion of an herbal incense product, Buzz, which contained 5.

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Aim: The present study tested whether the selective monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) inhibitor JZL184 would reduce allodynia and paw edema in the carrageenan test.

Main Methods: The anti-edematous and anti-allodynic effects of JZL184 were compared to those of PF-3845, an inhibitor of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), and diclofenac, a non-selective cyclooxygenase inhibitor. Cannabinoid receptor involvement in the anti-edematous and anti-allodynic effects of JZL184 was evaluated by administration of the respective CB1 and CB2 receptor antagonists rimonabant and SR144528 as well as with CB1(-/-) and CB2(-/-) mice.

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The disposition of the cannabimimetic naphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindol-3-yl)methanone (JWH-018) in mice following inhalation of the smoke of the herbal incense product (HIP) 'Buzz' is presented. A high-pressure liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (HPLC/MS/MS) method was validated for the analysis of JWH-018 in the specimens using deuterated Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol (d(3) -THC) as the internal standard. JWH-018 was isolated by cold acetonitrile liquid-liquid extraction.

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The disposition in mice of the cannabimimetics JWH-018 and JWH-073 in blood and brain following inhalation of the smoke from the herbal incense product (HIP) "Magic Gold" containing 3.6% JWH-018, 5.7% JWH-073 and less than 0.

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Background: In-hospital insulin administration is associated with many medication errors, but the frequency and reasons for insulin administration errors are poorly described. To document types and frequency of errors related to insulin administration, an examination of 4 units was conducted.

Methods: Using snapshot methodology, 4 non-intensive care unit (ICU) areas (medicine, cardiology, transplant, and surgery) were examined in an observational, prospective manner for 4 weeks.

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Rationale: Cannabis users display a constellation of withdrawal symptoms upon drug discontinuation, including sleep disturbances, irritability, and possibly memory deficits. In cannabinoid-dependent rodents, the CB(1) antagonist rimonabant precipitates somatic withdrawal and enhances forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in cerebellum, an effect opposite that of acutely administered ∆(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary constituent in cannabis.

Objectives: Here, we tested whether THC-dependent mice undergoing rimonabant-precipitated withdrawal display short-term spatial memory deficits, as assessed in the Morris water maze.

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For more than a decade, a considerable amount of research has examined the effects of rimonabant (SR 141716) and other CB(1) receptor antagonists in both in vivo and in vitro models of learning and memory. In addition to its utility in determining whether the effects of drugs are mediated though a CB(1) receptor mechanism of action, these antagonists are useful in providing insight into the physiological function of the endogenous cannabinoid system. Several groups have reported that CB(1) receptor antagonists enhance memory duration in a variety of spatial and operant paradigms, but not in all paradigms.

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It is well established that genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of the CB(1) receptor disrupts extinction learning in aversive conditioning tasks, but not in appetitive tasks. Consistent with these findings is that genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the primary catabolic enzyme of the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide (AEA), accelerates acquisition as well as extinction in aversive conditioning tasks. However, it is unknown whether FAAH blockade will affect acquisition in an appetitive conditioning task.

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Replacement therapy with the synthetic mu-opioid agonist methadone is an efficacious treatment for opioid abuse. While much is known about methadone's pharmacology, its discriminative stimulus properties remain largely unexplored. The present study sought to establish methadone discrimination in rats.

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It is firmly established that the hippocampus, a brain region implicated in spatial learning, episodic memory, and consolidation, contains a high concentration of CB(1) receptors. Moreover, systemic and intrahippocampal administration of cannabinoid agonists have been shown to impair hippocampal-dependent memory tasks. However, the degree to which CB(1) receptors in the hippocampus play a specific functional role in the memory disruptive effects of marijuana or its primary psychoactive constituent Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)-THC) is unknown.

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The cannabinoid receptor system plays an integral role in learning and memory. Moreover, the cannabinoid CB(1) receptor antagonist rimonabant has been found to improve performance in a variety of animal memory models. The present study tested whether a novel and potent cannabinoid CB(1) receptor antagonist, CE, would prolong the duration of spatial memory.

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In the present study, we evaluated the effects of memantine in a delayed radial-arm maze rat task, consisting of an acquisition phase followed 18 h later by a win-shift retrieval test. When administered 20 min before acquisition, memantine elicited an inverted U-shape dose-response relationship, with low doses (0.3 and 0.

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