Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic multisymptom illness with a central nervous system component such as memory deficits, neurological, and musculoskeletal problems. There are ample data that demonstrate that exposure to Gulf War (GW) agents, such as pyridostigmine bromide (PB) and pesticides such as permethrin (PER), were key contributors to the etiology of GWI post deployment to the Persian G...

Individuals chronically exposed to low levels of organophosphate insecticides may present with subtle impairments in cognition. In addition, low level diisopropylflurophosphate (DFP) exposure (0.25 mg/kg per day for 2 weeks) in rats resulted in protracted working memory impairment [29]. The current studies attempt to show a temporal relationship between the DFP-induced impairment in performance...

Pyridostigmine bromide (PB), a cholinesterase inhibitor used as a prophylactic against nerve agents, has been reported to produce neuronal apoptosis in rats. The goal of this study was to determine if PB produced similar levels of apoptosis in a C57BL/6J mouse model. Since the ability of PB to cross the blood-brain barrier is controversial, we used physostigmine (PHY), a cholinesterase inhibito...

Nerve agents are among the most dangereous chemical warfare agents (3, 29, 40, 45). They can be (and have been) misused by terrorists (4, 31). Moreover, the whole spectrum of these agents of the same basic chemical structure covers organophosphorus insecticides (OP) – chemicals easily available, frequently used over the world and causing professional, suicidal or accidental intoxications (4). A...

Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic multi-symptom disorder that affected almost one-third of the deployed veterans during first Persian (1990-91). Symptoms include gastrointestinal disturbances, fatigue, cognitive deficiencies, and neuroinflammation. Our group has recently shown series different therapeutic strategies span oral butyrate, anti-viral drug Ribavirin, TLR4 antagonist Sparstolonin B...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the genetic and physiologic basis of the neuromuscular symptoms of hypotonia-cystinuria syndrome (HCS) and isolated PREPL deficiency, and their response to therapy. METHODS We performed molecular genetic, histochemical, immunoblot, and ultrastructural studies, investigated neuromuscular transmission in vitro in a patient with isolated PREPL deficiency, and evaluated t...

Sympathetic hyperactivity and its outcome in heart failure have been thoroughly investigated to determine the focus of pharmacologic approaches targeting the sympathetic nervous system in the treatment of this pathophysiological condition. On the other hand, therapeutic approaches aiming to protect the reduced cardiac parasympathetic function have not received much attention. The present study ...

A good knowledge of the basic mechanisms of acute toxicity of organophosphorus compounds has lead to the development of specific antidotes able to counteract their acute toxic effects. Unfortunately, there are still some highly toxic organophosphorus compounds, called nerve agents, that are resistant to standard antidotal treatment. Relatively unsatisfactory antidotal treatment of acute poisoni...