Positive allosteric modulation of the GABAA receptor (GABAAR) via the benzodiazepine recognition site is the mechanism whereby diverse chemical classes of therapeutic agents act to reduce anxiety, induce and maintain sleep, reduce seizures, and induce conscious sedation. The binding of such therapeutic agents to this allosteric modulatory site increases the affinity of GABA for the agonist reco...

A study was conducted to determine the effect of different parasite control programs on weight gain and other measurements for stocker beef calves during the grazing season and subsequent feedlot phase of production. One hundred eighty recently weaned beef steers were purchased from a Mississippi sale barn and were allocated by restricted randomization on pretreatment weight to three treatments...

Benzoyl coenzyme A (benzoyl-CoA) reductase is a central enzyme in the anaerobic degradation of organic carbon, which utilizes a common intermediate (benzoyl-CoA) in the metabolism of many aromatic compounds. The diversity of benzoyl-CoA reductase genes in denitrifying bacterial isolates capable of degrading aromatic compounds and in river and estuarine sediment samples from the Arthur Kill in N...

The imidazopyridine zolpidem (Ambien) is one of the most commonly prescribed sleep aids in the United States (Rush, 1998). Similar to classic benzodiazepines (BZDs), zolpidem binds at the extracellular N-terminal alpha/gamma subunit interface of the GABA-A receptor (GABAR). However, zolpidem differs significantly from classic BZDs in chemical structure and neuropharmacological properties. Thus,...

Individuals with autism display deficits in the social domain including the proper recognition of faces and interpretations of facial expressions. There is an extensive network of brain regions involved in face processing including the fusiform gyrus (FFG) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Functional imaging studies have found that controls have increased activity in the PCC and FFG during ...

To obtain drugs which are more selective at benzodiazepine (BZD) receptors, design and synthesis of functionally selective ligands for BZD receptors is the current strategy of our pharmaceutical chemistry department. The affinity of newly synthesized ligands is assessed by radioligand receptor binding assays. Based on our previous studies, 2-phenyl-5-oxo-7-methyl-1,3,4-oxadiazolo[a,2,3]-pyrimid...

objective: regarding the anticonvulsant effects of satureja hortensis (s. hortensis) in avicenna’s book: canon of medicine; the present study was undertaken to evaluate the anti- eplileptic effects of s. hortensis aqueous and ethanolic aerial part extracts. furthermore, the mechanisms of their anticonvulsant activities were also evaluated. materials and methods: seizure was induced by pentylent...

Expression and secretion of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) by cultured liver cells can be markedly stimulated by triazolodiazepines (TZDs). It has been shown previously that the thieno-TZD Ro 11-1464 increases plasma levels of apoA-I and in vivomacrophage reverse cholesterol transport in mice. However, these effects were only seen at high doses, at which the compound could act on central benzodiaz...

A number of the benzodiazepines (BZDs) inhibit nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neurite outgrowth in a dose-dependent manner in PC12 cell cultures. The rank order of potency of a series of BZDs for inhibition of neurite outgrowth does not correlate with the order of their affinity constants for the so-called peripheral BZD sites present on PC12 cells. Whereas the inhibition of neurite extensio...