The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor antagonist ketamine may have rapid, albeit transient, antidepressant properties. This study in patients with treatment-resistant major depression (TRD) aimed to (1) replicate the acute efficacy of single-dose intravenous (i.v.) ketamine; (2) test the efficacy of the glutamate-modulating agent riluzole in preventing post-ketamine relapse; and (3...

OBJECTIVE To compare electrical impedance myography (EIM) 50 kHz phase to weight, motor score, paw grip endurance (PGE), CMAP amplitude, and MUNE for the identification of disease progression and the effect of riluzole in the SOD1 G93A mouse. METHODS Twenty-three animals received 8 mg/kg/day riluzole in the drinking water starting at 6 weeks of age; 22 animals served as controls. Weight, moto...

The persistent sodium current (I(Na(P))) has been implicated in the regulation of synaptic integration, intrinsic membrane properties, and rhythm generation in many types of neurons. We characterized I(Na(P)) in commissural interneurons (CINs) in the neonatal (postnatal days 0-3) mouse spinal cord; it is activated at subthreshold potentials, inactivates slowly, and can be blocked by low concent...

Background: Opioid sensitivity is well known to vary widely among individual subject in levels of μ-opioid receptor (MOP) expression, responses to pain and analgesic effect of morphine. Many studies have reported that the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), A118G, of the μ-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) has been shown to be associated with MOP expression levels, as well as pain thresholds, anal...

PURPOSE Although hyperglycemia is likely the main stimulus for VEGF induction in diabetic retinopathy (DR), a switch from oral hypoglycemic therapy to parenteral insulin injection, despite producing better glucose control, sometimes paradoxically aggravates DR. The induction of VEGF by insulin, as observed in certain conditions, may be a plausible mechanism for this phenomenon. In the present s...

Most types of electrographic epileptiform activity can be characterized by isolated or repetitive bursts in brain electrical activity. This observation is our motivation to determine mechanisms that underlie bursting behavior of neuronal networks. Here we show that the persistent sodium (Na(P)) current in mouse neocortical slices is associated with cellular bursting and our data suggest that th...

A stability-indicating reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography method with photodiode array detector was developed and validated for estimation of riluzole in the bulk and tablet dosage forms. Riluzole was subjected to stress conditions (light, heat, humidity, acid/base hydrolysis and oxidation) and the stressed samples were analyzed by developed method. Degradation was observed in ac...

Persistent sodium currents (INaP) are common in neuronal circuitries and have been implicated in several diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and epilepsy. However, the role of INaP in the regulation of specific behaviors is still poorly understood. In this study we have characterized INaP and investigated its role in the swimming and struggling behavior of Xenopus tadpoles. IN...