Search results for "Muscle Contraction"

Cellular basis of detrusor smooth muscle contraction

2015

Computation of inverse functions in a model of cerebellar and reflex pathways allows to control a mobile mechanical segment.

2003

Abstract The command and control of limb movements by the cerebellar and reflex pathways are modeled by means of a circuit whose structure is deduced from functional constraints. One constraint is that fast limb movements must be accurate although they cannot be continuously controlled in closed loop by use of sensory signals. Thus, the pathways which process the motor orders must contain approximate inverse functions of the bio-mechanical functions of the limb and of the muscles. This can be achieved by means of parallel feedback loops, whose pattern turns out to be comparable to the anatomy of the cerebellar pathways. They contain neural networks able to anticipate the motor consequences …

Proteins of Muscle and the Cytoskeleton

1994

The contractile elements of striated vertebrate skeletal muscle, the myofibrils, contain thin filaments, which are 6 nm in diameter and consist mainly of actin, and thicker myosin filaments with a diameter of 16 nm (Fig. 10.1). During muscle contraction, the filaments undergo a sliding movement relative to each other (sliding filament mechanism). This is brought about by the reversible formation of bridges between the myosin molecules and the actin filaments, which bind, change their conformation and then dissociate (bridge cycle). The required energy is supplied by the hydrolysis of ATP. The sliding distance (step size) per molecule of ATP hydrolysed is controversial; the most recent measu…

Ouabain enhances release of acetylcholine in the heart evoked by unilateral vagal stimulation.

1986

The aim of the study was to elucidate peripheral effects of ouabain on the parasympathetic innervation of the heart, effects that could contribute to the experimentally and clinically well established “vagal effect of cardiac glycosides”. The experiments were carried out with ouabain concentrations of 3×10−7 and 10−6 mol/l, which were considered “therapeutic”, as they increased force of contraction and did not elicit arrhythmias in incubated chicken atria. In atrial preparations of chickens and guinea-pigs the negative chronotropic and inotropic effects of acetylcholine (ACh) were not altered by 3×10−7 mol/l ouabain. Resting efflux of ACh from perfused chicken hearts was increased by ouabai…

Structural and functional features of human muscle-tendon unit.

2006

This paper reviews the architectural details and the in vivo behavior of the human muscle-tendon unit with the focus on the triceps surae and quadriceps femoris muscles. Recent advances in experimental techniques allow in vivo measurements of muscle-tendon architecture and function. In particular, the use of ultrasonography for measurement of tendon and muscle has expanded our knowledge in the last decade. Furthermore, the nuclear magnetic resonance imaging is opening up new insights not only for three-dimensional anatomical information but also for examining musculo-skeletal motion in vivo. While these two completely non-invasive methods provide kinematic data, in vivo force measurements s…

Comparative Analysis of the Vascular Actions of Diterpenes Isolated from Euphorbia canariensis

1998

Abstract We have analysed the effects of 2,3-diepiingol 7,12-diacetate-8-isobutyrate (compound 1), ingenol-3-angelate-17-benzoate (compound 2), ingenol-3-angelate-17-benzoate-20-acetate (compound 3) and 3,5,7,8,9,15-hexahydroxyjatropha-6(17),11-dien-14-one-5,8-bis(2-methylbutyrate)-7-(2-methylpropionate) (compound 4), four diterpenes isolated from E. canariensis, on the isometric tension developed by isolated rabbit basilar and carotid arteries. Concentration-response curves to these compounds were obtained cumulatively in both arteries at resting tension and active tone (KCl, 50 mM). At resting tension a concentration-dependent contraction was induced by the four compounds. In the basilar …

Facial myokymia and contraction persisting 20 years: a case of pontine glioma.

1994

The relaxant effects of cromakalim (BRL 34915) on human isolated airway smooth muscle

1992

Cromakalim (BRL 34915) is a potassium channel opener with therapeutic potential as a bronchodilator in asthma. Cromakalim (0.1–30 μmol/l) inhibited the spontaneous tone of human isolated bronchi n a concentration-related manner being nearly as effective as isoprenaline or theophylline. The order of relaxant potencies (expressed as -log10 IC50 mol/l; mean ±SEM) was isoprenaline (7.29 ± 0.27; n = 8) > cromakalim (5.89 ± 0.12; n = 7) > theophylline (4.07 ±0.13; n = 10). In human bronchi where tone had been raised by addition of histamine (0.1 mmol/l), acetylcholine (0.1 mmol/l) or leukotriene D4 (LTD4, 0.1 μmol/l), the relaxant effect of cromakalim was substantially reduced. Cromakalim suppres…

Effects of phorbol 12,13-diacetate on human isolated bronchus

2000

Protein kinase C appears to be involved in the regulation of airway contractility. Phorbol 12,13-diacetate (PDA; 0.01-10 microM), a protein kinase C activator, produced a transient relaxation followed by a sustained contraction of human isolated bronchus. Different protein kinase C inhibitors (calphostin C, staurosporine and 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine) (H-7), nifedipine (NIF; 1 microM) or incubation with Ca(2+)-free medium, inhibited the spasmogenic response to phorbol, while ouabain (10 microM) suppressed only the initial relaxation. These results indicate that the initial relaxation, in response to PDA, is related to the activation of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase, while the ensuin…

Effect of Electrical Stimulation on Denervated Muscle

1986

The possibilities of noninvasive treatment in peripheral nerve injuries are limited. Although it is well known that the severance of a nerve results in paralysis of the dependent tissue, the methods of treating a denervated muscle are still controversial. The most obvious result of denervation is muscle atrophy and paralysis. In 1841 Reid forced the denervated muscle to contract by electrical stimulation to replace the loss of activity and observed that this treatment retarded atrophy. Since then, there has been continuing interest in preventing muscle atrophy with electrotherapy. Peripheral nerve injuries in the two world wars were, for instance, extensively treated with electrical stimula…