Cognitive dysfunction is amongst the most conspicuous symptoms in Gulf War illness (GWI). Combined exposure to the nerve gas antidote pyridostigmine bromide (PB), pesticides and stress during the Persian Gulf War-1 (PGW-1) are presumed to be among the major causes of GWI. Indeed, our recent studies in rat models have shown that exposure to GWI-related (GWIR) chemicals and mild stress for 4 week...

BACKGROUND The aging process is a deteriorating process that attacks the gastrointestinal tract, causing changes in the number and size of neurons from the enteric nervous system. The activity of free radicals on enteric neurons is helped by the significant reduction of antioxidants. AIM Evaluate the effect of the ascorbic acid supplementation on the neurons that produce the vasoactive intest...

The aim of the present investigations was to examine the effects of the states of hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism on vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) release under conditions of equilibrated water metabolism as well as of osmotic stimulation, brought about by the dehydration or hypertonic saline administration. The euhydrated and simultaneously hypothyroid rats showed decreased hypothalami...

In this review we have described the distribution, precise quantities and physico-chemical characteristics of Substance P in the central nervous system and in 7 peripheral organs. In keeping with the main reported actions of substance P as a modulator of both smooth muscle tone and blood vessel diameter, nerve fibres containing the peptide are frequently seen in close proximity to smooth muscle...

Caveolin is a protein associated with the characteristic coats that decorate the cytoplasmic face of plasma membrane caveolae. Recently it was found that exposure of human fibroblasts to cholesterol oxidase (CO) rapidly induces caveolin to redistribute to the ER and then to the Golgi complex, and that subsequent removal of CO allows caveolin to return to the plasma membrane (Smart, E. J., Y.-S....

BACKGROUND Inspiratory bulbospinal neurons in the caudal ventral medulla are premotor neurons that drive phrenic motoneurons and ultimately the diaphragm. Excitatory drive to these neurons is mediated by N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) receptors and modulated by an inhibitory gamma-aminobutyric acid(A) (GABA(A))ergic input. T...

In contrast to most negative-stranded RNA viruses, hantaviruses and other viruses in the family Bunyaviridae mature intracellularly, deriving the virion envelope from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or Golgi compartment. While it is generally accepted that Old World hantaviruses assemble and bud into the Golgi compartment, some studies with New World hantaviruses have raised the possibility of m...