No abstract available.
Animals ; Apomorphine* ; Brain* ; Rats*

The erectile response is peripherally mediated by cavernous nerve that contains thoracolubar sympathetic nerve and sacral parasympathetic nerve. It is known that thoracolubar sympathetic nerve involves in detumescence and sacral parasympathetic nerve in tumescence, however there are some opinions that rhoracolubar sympathetic nerve participates in psychogenic erectile mechanism. We previously reported that by the comparison with electrostimulation-induced erection, apomor- phine-induced erection was a vascular event. The aim of our study was to determine the infraspinal neural pathway of APO-induced erection. The sham operated rats remained normal in all measured respects. All rats having undergone neurotomy ot the hypogastric nerves showed APO-induced erection except one. The only 5 rats having undergone neurotomy of the pelvic nerves showed APO-induced erection. Erections could be elicited upon cavernous or pelvic nerves stimulation in all rats having undergone neurolomy of the hypogastric nerves. Among 17 rats having undergone neurotomy of the pelvic nerve erection could be elicited upon cavernous nerves slimulation in 14 rats, however. the intracavernous pressure (47.9+/-16.5 mmHg) was lower than that found in sham-operated rats. Erectile response in these 14 rats appeared to result from stimulation of penile neurons coming from the major pelvic ganglion. In contrast to no response in sham-operated rats, stimulation of the hypogastric nerves also resulted in erections in 7 out of 17 rats. In conclusion, this present study suggests that APO-induced ereclion is primarily mediated via the sacral parasympathetic nerve system and may be mediated by the thoracolumbar sympathetic pathway following injury to the parasympathetic nerve system. Furthermore we can guess the possibility that the neural pathway of psychogenic erection is same that of AP0- induced erection.
Animals ; Apomorphine ; Ganglion Cysts ; Models, Animal* ; Neural Pathways* ; Neurons ; Rats*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Apomorphine* ; Dopamine* ; Parkinsonian Disorders* ; Rats* ; Receptors, Dopamine D2*

OBJECTIVE: Schizophrenia, a devastating mental disorder, displays a wide range of cognitive impairments including attentional impairment. Prepulse inhibition (PPI), in which a startle response to a loud acoustic noise is reduced by a preceding auditory stimulus of a lower intensity, is impaired in schizophrenic patients and rats injected with apomorphine (APO) or phencyclidine (PCP) mimicking attentional deficits in schizophrenics. Here we examined therapeutic efficacy of a newly developed atypical antipsychotic compound (YKP1447;YKP) on PPI impairment induced by various doses of APO and PCP. METHODS: This study was composed of 3 experiments. YKP (0.5-15 mg/kg) or vehicle (VEH) was administered 15 min before the injection of APO (0.5 mg/kg, Exp1) or PCP (2.0 mg/kg, Exp2:1.5 mg/kg, Exp3). They were then tested for PPI in which a mix of startle stimulus and prepulse was presented. RESULTS: APO or PCP treatment effectively impaired PPI in tested animals (VEH/APO or VEH/PCP). Impaired PPI in APO group was reversed in animals that were pretreated with YKP (5-10 mg/kg) (Exp1). However YKP treatment was not effective in PCP group (Exp2-3). CONCLUSION: High concentration of YKP pretreatment had antipsychotic effect on APO-induced impairment in attentional function suggesting that the compound could potentially be used to treat cognitive impairment due to increased dopaminergic receptorbinding.
Acoustics ; Animals ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Apomorphine ; Humans ; Mental Disorders ; Noise ; Phencyclidine ; Rats ; Schizophrenia

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to demonstrate that the combined systemic administration of apomorphine (APO) and sildenafil have a synergistic effect on the erection in conscious rabbits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The erections of the male New Zealand White rabbits (2-3kg, n=12) were assessed by measuring the length of the uncovered penile mucosa (LUPM) and duration of the erection, both before and after the intravenous administration of agents. After the injection of APO (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.4mg/kg), sildenafil was administered intravenously in a dose-response manner (0.5, 1, 5mg/kg), followed by measurements for 0-120 minutes. In additional experiments, the effect of increasing the dosages of sildenafil, combined with APO, on blood pressure were evaluated. RESULTS: The intravenous administration of sildenafil caused a concentration dependent increase in the LUPM. There was a statistically significant increase in the LUPM with the administration of APO compared with no administration. The dosages of sildenafil and APO showing the greatest efficacy of sildenafil potentiation were 1mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg, respectively. The intravenous administration of APO at a dose of 0.1mg/kg was more effective than those of 0.05 and 0.4mg/kg, with dosages of sildenafil of 0.5 and 1mg/kg. There was no additional increase in the duration of erection on the administration of APO. The intravenous administration of sildenafil caused a concentration dependent decrease in blood pressure, but there was no additional decrease on administration of the APO. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that apomorphine elicits a stronger response on the erection induced by sildenafil in conscious rabbits, with no additional decrease in blood pressure.
Administration, Intravenous ; Apomorphine* ; Blood Pressure ; Humans ; Male ; Mucous Membrane ; Penile Erection* ; Rabbits* ; Sildenafil Citrate

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a prevalent idiopathic upper gastrointestinal (GI) disorder characterized by diverse symptomatology including epigastric pain or discomfort, postprandial fullness, and early satiety. Although its pathophysiological mechanisms have not yet been fully established, the available studies suggest that the etiology of FD is invariably multifactorial. Benachio-F(R) (BF) is a proprietary liquid formulation of 7 herbal extracts that has been proposed to address this multifactorial etiology using multi-drug phytotherapy. The pharmacological effects of BF, in comparison with those of two other herbal products (Whalmyungsu(R); WM and Iberogast(R); IB) were evaluated in rats. In a laparotomy-induced rat model of delayed GI transit, BF significantly accelerated the delayed gastric emptying caused by morphine, apomorphine, and cisplatin, and also significantly increased mean gastric transit, as compared to the control animals. BF markedly increased gastric accommodation in rats and produced higher gastric volume values than did the control treatment. The effects of BF were generally comparable or superior to those of WM and IB in these models. Furthermore, BF significantly stimulated biliary flow, as compared to the control treatment. These results indicated that BF might have great potential as an effective phytotherapeutic agent capable of reducing GI symptoms and increasing quality of life in FD patients.
Animals ; Apomorphine ; Cisplatin ; Dyspepsia ; Gastric Emptying ; Humans ; Models, Animal ; Morphine ; Phytotherapy ; Quality of Life ; Rats*

BACKGROUND: Apomorphine-induced rotational behavior of unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (OHDA) lesioned rat is widely used to develop anti-Parkinsonian treatments including drugs, neuroprotective therapy, and neural graft. Time course of changes in rotational behavior after lesioning, however, has not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to observe the chronological changes in the rotational response and to find the optimal period when this model is used for investigation of various therapies. METHODS: 6-OHDA was stereotaxically delivered to the unilateral substantia nigra in 13 rats. Rotational responses to apomorphine administrations were counted in the rotomotor on 2, 4, 8, 12, and 14 weeks after lesioning. RESULTS: The total turns for two hours increased continuously up to eight weeks, and then plateaued. CONCLUSIONS: Apomorphine-induced rotations increase until eight weeks after 6-OHDA lesioning. Therefore, this Parkinsonian model should be used at least eight weeks after lesioning. Even though priming was not excluded as an explanation in the experiment, we reason that progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons may explain the chronological changes in rotational behavior.
Animals ; Apomorphine* ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Oxidopamine* ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra ; Transplants

An apomorphine-induced rotational test has been used in the evaluation of rat parkinsonian models lesioned with neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Previous parkinsonian rat models have generally been characterized by unilateral destruction of both nigrosriatal pathway and mesolimbic pathway using 6-OHDA. The authors created partial lesioned rat parkinsonian models using 6-OHDA in which there is destruction of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway and sparing of the mesolimbic pathway. Rats with unilateral lesions of the substantia nigra pars compacta(SNpc) were tested for rotational asymmetry using a cylindrical rotometer device with flat bottom(diameter, 30.5cm) after administration of apomorphine. After completion of the rotation test, the animals were sacrificed and their brains were immunolabeled for tyrosine hydroxylase(TH). Analysis of anatomical and behavioral data suggests that the pattern of rotation(pivotal rotation) is more reliable index for loss of TH-immunoreactive neurons in lesioned SNpc than the total number of rotational responses to apomorphine. The exact cause of the abnormal ipsiversive rotation which some rats showed is unclear. Further research should be pursued to explain this finding.
Animals ; Apomorphine ; Brain ; Models, Animal ; Neurons ; Oxidopamine* ; Parkinson Disease ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra ; Tyrosine

Oral pharmacotherapy has become the first-line therapy for the majority of patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) of broad-spectrum etiology since the introduction of oral sildenafil, a potent, selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5). More than 3 years following the launch of sildenafil have made us informed fully about the mechanism of sildenafil, its clinical efficacy and safety, and appropriate use of the drug. Recently, the efficacy and tolerability of another potent, selective inhibitors of PDE5, vardenafil and tadalafil have been reported one after another and their phase 3 clinical studies worldwide have just finished. The PDE5 inhibitors are contraindicated in patients taking nitrates and may be restricted in others. The recent introduction of sublingual (SL) apomorphine, a centrally acting dopaminergic agonist with known erectogenic effects, could provide patients and clinicians with an additional option in the treatment of ED, although its efficacy and safety need to be verified further by worldwide clinical studies. We are in face of the era of multiple oral agents available for the treatment of ED. Due to the complex nature of individual patient-oriented goals and the multifactorial nature of ED, choices are needed that can be adapted to the requirements and responses of the individual patients. In this review, an overview of the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of the oral PDE5 inhibitors, sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil, and sublingual apomorphine are provided.
Apomorphine* ; Dopamine Agonists ; Drug Therapy ; Erectile Dysfunction* ; Humans ; Male ; Nitrates ; Pharmacokinetics* ; Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of various concentrations of glutamate(10(-8), 10(-6) and 10(-4) M) on the circling movement induced by apomorphine in the unilateral substantia nigra-lesioned rats. Subcutaneous apomorphine(0.1 mg/kg) elicited contralateral circling movement(641.7+/-163.9/hr), Glutamate(10(-6)-10(-4) M) significantly reduced the numbers of apomorphine-induced circling movement. This reducing effect of glutamate was antagonized and/or reversed by 10(-7) M GABA antagonist bicuculline. These results suggest that glutamate reduces circling movement induced by apomorphine and this reducing effect of glutamate may be mediated by increased GABA concentration in striatum and substantia nigra.
Animals ; Apomorphine ; Bicuculline ; Dopamine ; GABA Antagonists ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Glutamic Acid* ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra