M e t h o d s Data sources: Cochrane Airways Group Asthma trials register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, references of relevant articles, pharmaceutical companies manufacturing ALs and ICSs, and abstracts of the American Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society Meetings (1998 to 2003). Study selection and assessment: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing ALs p...

Intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) activates the neural pathways that mediate reward, including dopaminergic terminal areas such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc). However, a direct role of dopamine in ICSS-mediated reward has been questioned. Here, simultaneous voltammetric and electrophysiological recordings from the same electrode reveal that, at certain sites, the onset of anticipatory dopam...

BACKGROUND Intraplantar administration of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and formalin are two noxious stimuli commonly used to produce sustained pain-related behaviors in rodents for research on neurobiology and treatment of pain. One clinically relevant manifestation of pain is depression of behavior and mood. This study compared effects of intraplantar CFA and formalin on depression of posi...

BACKGROUND Despite the presence of existing guidelines, underuse of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) still exists among patients with persistent asthma in the United States. Inappropriate utilization of asthma medications has been attributed as one of the reasons for the significant economic burden due to asthma. OBJECTIVES To determine the demographic factors predicting patient-reported use of...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The purpose of this review is to compare and contrast the newer inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) ciclesonide with older ICSs in terms of pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties and how these affect comparative efficacy. In addition, clinical dosing strategies for ICSs including as-needed use will be explored. RECENT FINDINGS Ciclesonide has demonstrated similar efficacy t...

BACKGROUND Prescription opioid abuse is a significant concern in treating chronic pain, yet few studies examine how neuropathic pain alters the abuse liability of commonly abused prescription opioids. METHODS Normal and spinal nerve ligated (SNL) rats were implanted with electrodes into the left ventral tegmental area (VTA). Rats were trained to lever press for intracranial electrical stimula...

The neural basis of positive reinforcement is often studied in the laboratory using intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS), a simple behavioral model in which subjects perform an action in order to obtain exogenous stimulation of a specific brain area. Recently we showed that activation of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons supports ICSS behavior, consistent with proposed roles of this...

Intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) rewarding experience is known to modulate learning and memory and induce morphological and neurochemical changes in hippocampus. Therefore, we studied the effect of ICSS on the hippocampus-dependent operant and the spatial learning tasks in rats with bilateral electrolytic lesioning of fornix. Bilateral lesioning of fornix induced deficits in acquisition and...

BACKGROUND The widespread use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) for COPD treatment has been questioned. Recent studies of weaning some patients with COPD off ICSs found little or no adverse consequences compared with long-acting bronchodilators. It is unclear, however, whether discontinuation of ICSs reduces the elevated risk of pneumonia associated with these drugs. METHODS Using the Quebec ...