Tolerance to the anticonvulsant effects of lamotrigine on amygdala kindled seizures: cross-tolerance to carbamazepine but not valproate or diazepam.

Using an amygdala-kindled seizure paradigm, we evaluated the acute and chronic anticonvulsant effects of lamotrigine (LTG). Lamotrigine produced dose-dependent inhibitory effects on seizure stage, afterdischarge (AD), and seizure duration. Lamotrigine (15 mg/kg) also increased the afterdischarge and seizure thresholds.

Quenching revisited: low level direct current inhibits amygdala-kindled seizures.

We have reported that low frequency stimulation (1 Hz for 15 min), applied after kindling stimulation of the amygdala, inhibited the development and expression of amygdala-kindled seizures, an effect we termed quenching. Subsequently, we discovered that this effect could only be achieved when certain stimulators were used that also emitted a low-level direct current (DC). The studies reported here indicate that DC, applied once daily for 15 min at intensities of 5-15 microA, produced an intensity-related attenuation of kindling development and an increase in the afterdischarge threshold.

Rat nurr1 is prominently expressed in perirhinal cortex, and differentially induced in the hippocampal dentate gyrus by electroconvulsive vs. kindled seizures.

We isolated a rat orphan nuclear hormone receptor from a brain cortex cDNA library. The sequence of the cDNA insert was 2154 bp with an open reading frame of 1794 bp encoding a putative protein of 598 amino acids and predicted molecular mass of 65 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence showed a strong homology to the mouse nurr1 and human NOT1 orphan nuclear hormone receptors of the NGFI-B/nur77/NAK1 gene subfamily.

The effect of beta-carotene on sputum cytology in smokers: a preliminary study.

The use of biomarkers is a promising approach to the study of human cancer risk. Bronchial metaplasia in sputum cytology may be a marker for potential premalignancy that can be used for population studies. We recently performed a randomized, controlled trial in smokers on the effect of 14 weeks beta-carotene (20mg/day) on markers for DNA damage.

Rat PPAR delta contains a CGG triplet repeat and is prominently expressed in the thalamic nuclei.

We have isolated a new rat sequence containing motifs of a nuclear hormone receptor from a brain cDNA library. The deduced amino acid sequence encoded by the cDNA clone showed a strong homology to the human NUCI and the mouse peroxisome proliferator activated receptor delta (PPAR delta). We therefore refer to this new clone as rat PPAR delta (rPPAR delta).