Search results for "Patch"
showing 10 items of 337 documents
Decreased prevalence of left-handedness among females with male co-twins: evidence suggesting prenatal testosterone transfer in humans?
2009
Studies of singletons suggest that right-handed individuals may have higher levels of testosterone than do left-handed individuals. Prenatal testosterone levels are hypothesised to be especially related to handedness formation. In humans, female members from opposite-sex twin pairs may experience elevated level of prenatal exposure to testosterone in their intra-uterine environment shared with a male. We tested for differences in rates of left-handedness/right-handedness in female twins from same-sex and opposite-sex twin pairs. Our sample consisted of 4736 subjects, about 70% of all Finnish twins born in 1983–1987, with information on measured pregnancy and birth related factors. Circulati…
The serum level of free testosterone is reduced in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
2002
Sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting upper and lower motoneurons. There is an approximately 2:1 higher incidence of ALS in men compared to women, and this has raised the hypothesis of an involvement of sex hormones in the etiopathogenesis of the disorder. In this work, the serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), 17-betaestradiol, free and total testosterone were measured in 35 patients with defined or probable ALS, according to the El-Escorial/WFN revisited criteria, and compared to those obtained from 57 disease controls, matched for age and gender to the ALS group. We found no differences between ALS cases and …
Chernobyl exposure as stressor during pregnancy and hormone levels in adolescent offspring
2008
Background: Animal research suggests a programming effect of prenatal stress in the fetal period, resulting in disruptions in behavioural and neuromotor development. Physiological changes that mediate these effects include alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and in testosterone levels. This human study focuses on changes related to these physiological systems after prenatal stress exposure. Methods: We examined the potential effect of prenatal stress associated with the Chernobyl disaster in an ongoing genetic epidemiological study in Finland. One birth cohort of twins (n = 121 twin pairs) was exposed in utero to maternal stress, and their saliva cortisol and testosterone…
Similar rewarding effects of testosterone in mice rated as short and long attack latency individuals.
2002
An attempt was made to confirm and extend the findings of an earlier study on the rewarding properties of testosterone in male mice using conditioned place preference (CPP). Previous results had only partially demonstrated such an effect because the reinforcement depended on environmental cues such as the colour of the compartment. High individual variability was evident, suggesting that basal levels of aggressiveness may modulate such effects. Animals were pre-screened for aggressive behaviour and allocated to short and long attack latency (SAL and LAL) categories. Five days later the CPP procedure started. This involved pre-conditioning tests, conditioning and post-conditioning tests. SAL…
Cardiac effects of isoliquiritigenin
1997
The effects of isoliquiritigenin on force of contraction (Fc), L-type Ca2+ current (I(Ca)) and intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) were investigated in rat ventricular heart muscle. Isoliquiritigenin increased Fc and I(Ca) and, after longer exposure times, resting tension and [Ca2+]i. The effect of isoliquiritigenin (100 microM) on I(Ca) was diminished by Rp-cAMPS (30 microM). 1H-[1,2,4]oxa- diazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (50 microM) did not influence the effects of isoliquiritigenin on Fc and I(Ca). The positive inotropic effects of isoprenaline and forskolin, but not of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, were potentiated by isoliquiritigenin (100 microM). In the presence of milrinone (10…
Oxytocin Regulates Neurosteroid Modulation of GABAAReceptors in Supraoptic Nucleus around Parturition
2003
In this study, we investigate how neurosteroid sensitivity of GABAAreceptors (GABAARs) is regulated. We examined this issue in neurons of the supraoptic nucleus (SON) of the rat and found that, during parturition, the GABAARs become insensitive to the neurosteroid allopregnanolone attributable to a shift in the balance between the activities of endogenous Ser/Thr phosphatase and PKC. In particular, a constitutive endogenous tone of oxytocin within the SON after parturition suppressed neurosteroid sensitivity of GABAARs via activation of PKC. Vice versa before parturition, during late pregnancy, application of exogenous oxytocin brings the GABAARs from a neurosteroid-sensitive mode toward a …
Inhibition by Fendiline of the Transient Outward Current in Rat Ventricular Cardiomyocytes
1999
The effects of fendiline on the transient outward current (Ito) were investigated in rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. Extracellularly applied fendiline reduced peak and steady-state current amplitude of Ito; the inactivation of Ito was accelerated by the drug, which reflects onset of block. The described effects were concentration dependent: half-maximal effects were achieved at approximately 3 microM fendiline. Intracellularly applied fendiline (3 microM) did not affect Ito within 5 min. The steady-state current amplitude of Ito was more efficiently suppressed by the drug at 22 +/- 1 degrees C than at 36 +/- 1 degrees C. The recovery of Ito was analyzed by the application of twin depolarizi…
Mechanism of Block by 4-Aminopyridine of the Transient Outward Current in Rat Ventricular Cardiomyocytes
1998
The effects of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) on the transient outward current (I to ) were investigated in rat ventricular cardiomyocytes at different values of intracellular pH (pH i ) and extracellular pH (pH o ). The 4-AP was administered either extracellularly (bath application) or intracellularly (diffusion from the intrapipette solution). The 4-AP diminished I to given either from inside or outside the cell membrane. The block by extracellularly applied 4-AP (4-AP o ) of the peak amplitude of I to was decreased by external acidification but increased by external alkalinization: conversely. the block by 4-AP o was decreased by internal alkalinization but increased by internal acidification. I…
Voltage-Dependent Effects of Barnidipine in Rat Vascular Smooth Muscle
2003
The effects of the dihydropyridine nifedipine and its more lipophilic congener, barnidipine, were investigated in smooth muscle preparations from the rat in resting and depolarizing conditions. Both drugs relaxed precontracted aortic rings more potently in depolarizing conditions, barnidipine being more potent than nifedipine. Currents through Ca 2+ channels in rat vascular smooth muscle cells (A7r5) and in isolated rat cardiomyocytes were reduced more potently by both drugs at a holding potential of-40 mV than at -80 mV. However, barnidipine and nifedipine were more effective in reducing the current in A7r5 cells than in cardiomyocytes. The IC 50 obtained in aortic rings and in A7r5 cells …
Cocaine-induced locomotor activity is enhanced by exogenous testosterone
2002
Anabolic-androgenic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone, which are increasingly abused by adolescent populations who also abuse psychoactive substances. All these compounds lead to complex behavioral syndromes and the effects of their interactions remain unclear. The main aim of the present study was to determine the influence of testosterone on the locomotor activity-promoting effect of cocaine on male mice in an open field. In the three experiments, animals received two injections: firstly, testosterone or peanut oil, and secondly, cocaine or saline solution. In Experiments 1 and 2, testosterone (or oil) and cocaine (or saline) were injected 45 and 10 min, respectively, pri…