It has been reported that some of H1 receptor antagonists have important effects on cardiovascular system. Terfenadine as a non-sedative H1 receptor antagonist has an arrhythmogenic activity. In this study we have shown the effects of four antihistamine drugs: terfenadine, loratadine, clemastine and diphenhydramine, on the rate and contractions of isolated rat atria. Terfenadine (1-10 µM) cause...

The bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been associated with occupational airway diseases with asthma-like symptoms and in acute exacerbations of COPD. The direct and indirect effects of LPS on small airway reactivity have not been fully elucidated. We tested the hypothesis that both in vitro and in vivo LPS treatment would increase contraction and impair relaxation of mouse small...

This study characterizes vascular responsiveness to serotonin and its metabolites and to several monoamines that are structurally related to serotonin in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertension. Mesenteric arteries from normotensive and hypertensive rats were excised and cut into helical strips for isometric force recording. Dose-response curves to serotonin in arteries from hypert...

Numerous studies have focused on functional vascular changes that characterize the hypertensive state. Recent evidence that suggests that increased vascular reactivity in hypertension is due to changes in the delivery of activator Ca++ through channels in the cell membrane will be reviewed. The primary evidence supporting this hypothesis comes from studies that characterize the effects of Ca++-...

a b s t r a c tintroduction: craving to methamphetamine is a significant health concern and exposure to methamphetamine cues in laboratory can induce craving. in this study, a task designing procedure for evaluating methamphetamine cue-induced craving in laboratory conditions is examined. methods: first a series of visual cues which could induce craving was identified by 5 discussion sessions b...

OBJECTIVES The contribution of vascular changes to the development of heart failure is largely unknown. In the present study, we evaluated endothelial and vascular contractile function in the rat hindlimb vascular bed after myocardial infarction (MI), including the modulatory role of basal nitric oxide (NO) production and the effects of treatment with the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor...

The goal of this study was to compare adrenergic neurotransmlssion in isolated vascular smooth muscle from spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive rats. Tail arteries, excised from adult SHR and normotensive rats, were cut helically into strips that were mounted in organ chambers between two platinum wire electrodes; isometric contractions were recorded. Vascular responsiveness was de...

An altered vascular reactivity is an important manifestation of the hemodynamic and renal dysfunction during liver cirrhosis. Oxidative stress-derived substances and nitric oxide (NO) have been shown to be involved in those alterations. In fact, both can affect vascular contractile function, directly or by influencing intracellular signaling pathways. Nevertheless, it is unknown whether oxidati...

An experimental study was conducted to investigate developmental changes of the rat detrusor smooth muscle (DSM) reactivity from newborn to adult period. Urinary bladders were obtained from adult (4 months old), 1-month-old and newborn (4-7 days old) male Sprague-Dawley rats. DSM reactivity of the three groups was evaluated in organ chambers. The newborn DSM strips revealed markedly increased p...