Excitotoxicity of lathyrus sativus neurotoxin in leech retzius neurons.

Possible mechanism of action of neurotoxin from Lathyrus sativus.

Protoplast, cell and tissue cultures for the biotechnological breeding of grass peas (Lathyrus sativus L

Introduction Grass pea consumption leads to neurolathyrism and a safer use of this environmentally adaptable crop needs cultivars with decreased neurotoxin levels. Were they cross-compatible, grass peas would be useful genetic resources for disease resistance breeding of peas (Pisum sativum L.). In vitro selection (9) and gene transfer may provide grass peas better adapted for consumption, whil...

Neurolathyrism in vapniarka: medical heroism in a concentration Camp.

Stories abound about the medical abuses that have come to define medicine and the "pseudo"-neurosciences in the Third Reich. Well known are the Nazi program of euthanasia and the neuroscientific publications that arose from it. Nevertheless, during this widespread perversion of medical practice and science, true medical heroics persisted, even in the concentration camps. In December 1942, inmat...

Comparison of the effects of cumene hydroperoxide and hydrogen peroxide on Retzius nerve cells of the leech Haemopis sanguisuga.

Oxidative stress and the production of reactive oxygen species are known to play a major role in neuronal cell damage, but the exact mechanisms responsible for neuronal injury and death remain uncertain. In the present study, we examined the effects of oxidative stress on spontaneous spike activity and depolarizing outward potassium current by exposing the Retzius neurons of the leech to cumene...

Autogamy and allogamy in genus Lathyrus

Introduction In Tunisia the genus Lathyrus is represented by 15 native species , distributed essentially in marginal environments in the north of the country. Many of them are of considerable agronomic interest as forage (L. ochrus and L. articulatus) and as human food (L. cicera and L. sativus). These species are under utilised and in the past little effort has been made to expand the selectio...