Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is a hypothalamic neuropeptide that promotes positive energy balance and anxiety. Since dopamine (DA) is also closely implicated in these functions, the present study investigated the effect of DA on MCH neurons. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in rat brain slices, we found that DA hyperpolarizes MCH neurons by activating G-protein-activated inwardly ...

INTRODUCTION Community Health Strategy (CHS) is a new Primary Health Care (PHC) model in Kenya, designed to provide PHC services in Kenya. In 2011, CHS was initiated in Mwingi district as one of the components of APHIA plus kamili program. The objectives of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the CHS in providing MCH services in Mwingi district and to establish the factors influencing ...

A single-projection X-ray technique showed an increase in functional residual capacity (FRC) in conscious mice in response to aerosolized methacholine (MCh) with little change in airway resistance (Raw) measured using barometric plethysmography (Lai-Fook SJ, Houtz PK, Lai Y-L. J Appl Physiol 104: 521-533, 2008). The increase in FRC presumably prevented airway constriction by offsetting airway c...

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is a hypothalamic peptide that plays a critical role in the regulation of food intake and energy metabolism. In this study, we investigated the potential role of dense hippocampal MCH innervation in the spatially oriented food-seeking component of feeding behavior. Rats were trained for eight sessions to seek food buried in an arena using the working memory v...

Nicotine administration reduces appetite and alters feeding patterns; a major deterrent to smoking cessation is hyperphagia and resultant weight gain. We demonstrate here that lateral hypothalamic (LH) circuits involving melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons are subject to cholinergic modulation that may be related to the effects of nicotine on appetite control. Cholinergic input to the p...

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and orexin-A are orexigenic peptidergic neurotransmitters produced primarily in the lateral hypothalamus. Because two other hypothalamic peptides, neuropeptide Y and agouti-related peptide, increase food intake by a mechanism that depends on activation of opioid receptors, we assessed whether MCH or orexin-A also elicits food intake via opioid receptor activa...

Two new peptides, MCh-1 and MCh-2, along with three known trypsin inhibitors (MCTI-I, MCTI-II and MCTI-III), were isolated from the seeds of the tropical vine Momordica charantia. The sequences of the peptides were determined using mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. Using a strategy involving partial reduction and stepwise alkylation of the peptides, followed by enzymatic digestion and tan...

BACKGROUND Engaging community health volunteers and community health workers to provide maternal and child health (MCH) care services in resource-poor settings is one of the global and widely used concepts. Despite a great role of female community health volunteers (FCHVs) in MCH services in Nepal, few research studies have been performed in this area. Our research aimed to assess the knowledge...

In the postero-lateral hypothalamus are located two neuronal systems that utilize the neuropeptides melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and hypocretins (also called orexins) as neuromodulators. These systems have reciprocal connections between them, and project throughout the central nervous system. MCH has been involved in the generation of sleep, mainly REM sleep, while hypocretins have a cri...

Airway responsiveness to methacholine (Mch) in the absence of deep inspirations (DIs) is lower in athletes compared with sedentary individuals. In this prospective study, we tested the hypothesis that a training exercise program reduces the bronchoconstrictive effect of Mch. Ten healthy sedentary subjects (M/F: 3/7; mean + or - SD age: 22 + or - 3 yr) entered a 10-wk indoor rowing exercise prog...