Life sciences
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Although hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment following spinal cord injury (SCI) have been studied in terms of neurological function and tissue histology, there is a limited number studies on spinal cord tissue enzyme levels. ⋯ HBO treatment was found to be beneficial following SCI in terms of biochemical parameters and functional recovery in the postoperative period.
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The aim of this present study was to investigate the changes of peripheral sensory nerve excitability produced by propofol. ⋯ Our results have shown that propofol decreases nerve excitability of primary sensory afferents. The technique of threshold tracking revealed that axonal voltage-gated ion channels are significantly affected by propofol and therefore might be at least partially responsible for earlier described analgesic effects.
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The nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) peptide (NOP) receptor was reported to be functionally heterogeneous. We investigated if [Tyr(10)]N/OFQ(1-11), a peptide ligand reported to selectively bind to the high affinity site of (125)I-[Tyr(14)]N/OFQ in rodent brains, can be a tool for revealing the NOP receptor heterogeneity. We have previously founded an NOP receptor subset insensitive to Ro 64-6198 and (+)-5a Compound, two non-peptide NOP agonists, in rat ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) neurons. Here, we examined if [Tyr(10)]N/OFQ(1-11) differentiated (+)-5a Compound-sensitive and -insensitive vlPAG neurons. Certain mu-opioid (MOP) receptor ligands highly competing with [Tyr(10)]N/OFQ(1-11) in binding studies also showed high affinity at expressed heteromeric NOP-MOP receptors. We also examined if [Tyr(10)]N/OFQ(1-11) distinguished heteromeric NOP-MOP receptors from homomeric NOP receptors. ⋯ [Tyr(10)]N/OFQ(1-11) is an NOP full agonist and less potent than N/OFQ. However, it can neither reveal the functional heterogeneity of NOP receptors in vlPAG neurons nor differentiate heteromeric NOP-MOP and homomeric NOP receptors.