Objective(s): Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder in elderly patients. Decrease in cholinergic neurotransmission is the main known cause in the pathophysiology of the disease. Improvement and potentiation of the cholinergic system could be beneficial for treatment of the AD. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as donepezil can enhance the duration of action of a...

BACKGROUND Kolaviron, isolated from seeds of Garcinia kola, have been shown to possess wide pharmacological properties. PURPOSE The present study examined the effect of kolaviron on acetylcholinesterase activities in the hippocampus and striatum of adult Wistar rats. METHODS In this study, histological and histochemical methods were used to investigate the effects of kolaviron on the histol...

Huperzine A is potentially superior to pyridostigmine bromide as a pretreatment for nerve agent intoxication because it inhibits acetylcholinesterase both peripherally and centrally, unlike pyridostigmine, which acts only peripherally. Using rhesus monkeys, we evaluated the time course of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibition following four different doses of -(-)huperzine A...

Butyrylcholinesterase is involved three different enzymatic activities in its structure like its sister enzyme, acetylcholinesterase: esterase, aryl acylamidase and peptidase (or protease). Whereas the clear role of acetylcholinesterase in cholinergic neurotransmission is well defined, the real physiological function of butyrylcholinesterase is still unknown. Both enzymes have similar molecular...

Two muscle differentiation programs, acetylcholinesterase and tropomyosin-containing filaments and fibrils, occur together in the same cleavage-arrested zygotes (1-celled) of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Coexpression in such undivided but developing 'embryos' is consistent with the idea that separate elements of muscle differentiation are related at some regulatory level, perhaps through a ...

Corticobasal syndrome, progressive supranuclear palsy and frontotemporal dementia are all part of a disease spectrum that includes common cognitive impairment and movement disorders. The aim of this study was to characterize brain cholinergic deficits in these disorders. We measured brain acetylcholinesterase activity by [11C] N-methylpiperidin-4-yl acetate and positron emission tomography in s...

Musical hallucinations are relatively rare auditory percepts which, due to their intrusive nature and the accompanying fear of impending mental decline, tend to cause significant distress and impairment. Although their etiology and pathophysiology appear to be heterogeneous and no evidence-based treatment methods are available, case reports indicate that acetylcholinesterase inhibitors may yiel...