Numerous lines of evidence indicate that some of the neurotoxicity associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is due to proteolytic fragments of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Most research has focused on the amyloid beta peptide (Abeta). However, the possible role of other cleaved products of APP is less clear. We have previously shown that a recombinant carboxy-terminal 105 amino acid fra...

Naturally occurring glutamate analogs, such as kainate and domoate, which cause excitotoxic shellfish poisoning, induce nondesensitizing responses at neuronal alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors. In addition to acting on AMPA receptors, kainate and domoate also activate high-affinity kainate-type glutamate receptors. The receptor type that mediates their ne...

CNS trauma generates a proteolytic imbalance contributing to secondary injury, including axonopathy and neuron degeneration. Kallikrein 6 (Klk6) is a serine protease implicated in neurodegeneration, and here we investigate the role of protease-activated receptors 1 (PAR1) and PAR2 in mediating these effects. First, we demonstrate Klk6 and the prototypical activator of PAR1, thrombin, as well as...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE MR examination of infants with kernicterus shows abnormal changes in signal intensity in various parts of the brain, including the globus pallidus and subthalamic regions. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze proton ((1)H) MR spectroscopic data to see if the MR spectroscopic profiles of infants with hyperbilirubinemia and symptoms of kernicterus provid...

Elevated levels of extracellular glutamate ([Glu]o) cause uncontrolled Ca2+ increases in most neurons and are believed to mediate excitotoxic brain injury following stroke and other nervous system insults. In the normal brain, [Glu]o is tightly controlled by uptake into astrocytes. Because the vast majority of primary brain tumors (gliomas) are derived from astrocytes, we investigated glutamate...

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. (Anacardiaceae) is a medicinal plant known for the treatment of several diseases such as epilepsy, hypertension, inflammation and memory disorders in Cameroonian folk medicine. Aim study: The aim this work to evaluate improvement neuroprotective effects aqueous root bark extracts investigate it antioxidant properties. Materia...

Berberine, an isoquinoline plant alkaloid, protects neurons against neurotoxicity. An excessive release of glutamate is considered to be one of the molecular mechanisms of neuronal damage in several neurological diseases. In this study, we investigated whether berberine could affect endogenous glutamate release in nerve terminals of rat cerebral cortex (synaptosomes) and explored the possible m...