PURPOSE To explore the role of calcium in morphine withdrawal syndrome using various agents affecting calcium levels in cytoplasm. METHODS Mice were rendered dependent on morphine by subcutaneous injection of morphine, and withdrawal was induced 4 hours later by injecting the opioid antagonist, naloxone. Mice were observed for 30 minutes for signs of withdrawal, ie, characteristic jumping, hy...

Pisa syndrome is (PS) usually seen in patients receiving antipsychotic drugs and characterised by lateral flexion of trunk and axial dystonia. It is believed that antipsychotic drugs lead to dopamine blockage causing PS. We describe a Parkinson's disease patient who was doing well with levodopa/carbidopa for 3 years and developed lateral flexion of trunk. His abnormal posture used to completely...

Reserpine-induced catalepsy is a widely accepted animal model of Parkinson's disease. In the present study reserpine (2.5 mg/kg, ip) 20 hr and alpha-mehyl-para-tyrosine (AMPT; 200 mg/kg, ip), one hour before the experiment induced significant catalepsy in rats as assessed by bar test. There was a significant increase in the time spent on the bar in bar test as compared to the control untreated ...

Long term use of high doses of estrogen and the presence of chronic hyperprolactinemia may, at least in the rat, provoke lesions in the tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic (TIDA) neurons responsible for the control of prolactin (Prl) secretion. This occurrence, which is not yet well documented in humans, may have taken place in a patient on chronic oral hormonal contraceptive (OC) treatment who was...

The influence of treatment duration (7 or 14 days) with Plantago ovata husk/levodopa/carbidopa in the bioavailability and other pharmacokinetic parameters of levodopa were evaluated in rabbits. Fiber was administered at two different doses, 100 and 400 mg/kg, and the dosage of levodopa/carbidopa was 20:5 mg/kg. These doses were administered once a day. When 100 mg/kg of fiber was administered, ...

Parkinson disease is an age-related disorder of the central nervous system principally due to loss of dopamine-producing cells in the midbrain. Levodopa, in combination with carbidopa, is widely regarded as an effective treatment for the symptoms of Parkinson disease. A dose-response relationship is established for carbidopa-levodopa extended-release capsules (IPX066) in levodopa-naive Parkinso...

A multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach is increasingly recommended in Parkinson's disease (PD) treatment guidelines, but no standard of care exists for such an approach, and the guidelines do not provide clarification on how it should be implemented. This paper reviews evidence of MDT interventions in people with PD and provides expert clinical perspectives for an MDT approach, with a focus on...

The PET tracer [(11)C]5-hydroxytryptophan ([(11)C]5-HTP), which is converted to [(11)C]5-hydroxytryptamine ([(11)C]5-HT) by aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (AADC), is thought to measure 5-HT synthesis rates. But can we measure these synthesis rates by kinetic modeling of [(11)C]5-HTP in rat? Male rats were scanned with [(11)C]5-HTP (60 minutes) after different treatments. Scans included arter...