BACKGROUND

Perampanel is an antagonist of the a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor. It is currently FDA-approved to treat focal and generalized tonic-clonic seizures in epilepsy, but recent evidence suggests its potential in treating severe and refractory tremors.

To determine the safety and efficacy of perampanel in treating tremors via a systematic review of existing literature. 

We performed a literature search on five large databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar, HERDIN, and Scopus) for clinical studies within the last 10 years and screened a total of 1,539 unique articles for full assessment. We filtered out papers on epilepsy as well as hypokinetic diseases and assessed nine articles for quality assessment and review.

A total of four case reports/series, four open-label trials, and one randomized controlled trial were assessed to be of fair to good quality. All trials showed that low-dose perampanel (2-4 mg/day) was safe and well-tolerated with minor adverse events reported by participants. A net benefit from baseline was observed in patients with essential and primary orthostatic tremors. However, current evidence is weak because the trials employed a non-randomized before-after study design with a small sample size and significant dropout rates.

Low-dose perampanel at 2-4 mg/day shows promising potential in treating refractory tremors and myoclonus in recent clinical studies, but current evidence is weak or anecdotal. Additional randomized controlled trials are needed to determine the conclusive benefit of perampanel for hyperkinesia.

OBJECTIVE: To illustrate the role of dehydrocorydaline (DHC) in chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into 3 groups by using a random number table, including sham group (sham operation), CCI group [intrathecal injection of 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)], and CCI+DHC group (intrathecal injection of DHC), 8 mice in each group. A CCI mouse model was conducted to induce neuropathic pain through ligating the right common sciatic nerve. On day 14 after CCI modeling or sham operation, mice were intrathecal injected with 5 µL of 10% DMSO or 10 mg/kg DHC (5 µL) into the 5th to 6th lumbar intervertebral space (L5-L6). Pregnant ICR mice were sacrificed for isolating primary spinal neurons on day 14 of embryo development for in vitro experiment. Pain behaviors were evaluated by measuring the paw withdrawal mechanical threshold (PWMT) of mice. Immunofluorescence was used to observe the activation of astrocytes and microglia in mouse spinal cord. Protein expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), phosphorylation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit 2B (p-NR2B), and NR2B in the spinal cord or primary spinal neurons were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: In CCI-induced neuropathic pain model, mice presented significantly decreased PWMT, activation of glial cells, overexpressions of iNOS, TNF-α, IL-6, and higher p-NR2B/NR2B ratio in the spinal cord (P<0.05 or P<0.01), which were all reversed by a single intrathecal injection of DHC (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The p-NR2B/NR2B ratio in primary spinal neurons were also inhibited after DHC treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSION An intrathecal injection of DHC relieved CCI-induced neuropathic pain in mice by inhibiting the neuroinflammation and neuron hyperactivity.
Animals ; Neuralgia/etiology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Analgesics/pharmacology* ; Neuroinflammatory Diseases/pathology* ; Constriction ; Male ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/metabolism* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Microglia/pathology* ; Spinal Cord/drug effects* ; Female ; Mice ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Constriction, Pathologic/complications* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Astrocytes/metabolism* ; Chronic Disease ; Neurons/metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: To observe the effect of 4-(arylethynyl)-pyrrolo[2,3-d] pyrimidine (10b) on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-like behaviors and ERK1/2-SGK1 signaling pathway in mice. METHODS: C57BL/6 mouse models exposed to single prolonged stress (SPS) were treated with daily gavage of saline, 10b at low, moderate and high doses, or paroxetine for 14 days. The changes in PTSD-like behaviors of SPS mice with different treatments were observed using behavioral tests. Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay were used to detect the protein expression levels of mGluR5, p-ERK, and SGK1 in the hippocampus of the mice. Pathological changes in the liver and kidney tissues of the mice were examined using HE staining. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics analyses were employed to evaluate the binding stability between the compound 10b and mGluR5. RESULTS: Compared to the normal control mice, the SPS mice exhibited obvious PTSD-like behaviors with increased hippocampal expressions of mGluR5 and p-ERK proteins and decreased SGK1 protein expression. Compound 10b significantly ameliorated behavioral abnormalities in SPS mice, inhibited mGluR5 expression, and reversed the dysregulation of p-ERK and SGK1. No obvious liver or kidney toxicity was observed after 10b treatment. Molecular docking and dynamics studies demonstrated a stable interaction between 10b and mGluR5. CONCLUSIONS The compound 10b ameliorates PTSD-like behaviors induced by SPS in mice possibly by inhibiting mGluR5 expression to modulate the ERK1/2-SGK1 signaling pathway.
Animals ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/drug therapy* ; Receptor, Metabotropic Glutamate 5/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice ; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism* ; Pyrimidines/pharmacology* ; Immediate-Early Proteins/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; MAP Kinase Signaling System/drug effects* ; Male ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Hippocampus/metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of orexin-A-mediated regulation of ionotropic glutamate receptors for promoting motor function recovery in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI). METHODS: Thirty-six newborn SD rats (aged 7-14 days) were randomized into 6 groups (n=6), including a normal control group, a sham-operated group, and 4 SCI groups with daily intrathecal injection of saline, DNQX, orexin-A, or orexin-A+DNQX for 3 consecutive days after PCI. Motor function of the rats were evaluated using blood-brain barrier (BBB) score and inclined plane test 1 day before and at 1, 3, and 7 days after SCI. For patch-clamp experiment, spinal cord slices from newborn rats in the control, sham-operated, SCI, and SCI+orexin groups were prepared, and ventral horn neurons were acutely isolated to determine the reversal potential and dynamic indicators of glutamate receptor-mediated currents under glutamate perfusion. RESULTS: At 3 and 7 days after SCI, the orexin-A-treated rats showed significantly higher BBB scores and grip tilt angles than those with other interventions. Compared with those treated with DNQX alone, the rats receiving the combined treatment with orexin and DNQX had significantly higher BBB scores and grip tilt angles on day 7 after PCI. In the patch-clamp experiment, the ventral horn neurons from SCI rat models exhibited obviously higher reversal potential and greater rise slope of glutamate current with shorter decay time than those from sham-operated and orexin-treated rats. CONCLUSIONS Orexin-A promotes motor function recovery in rats after SCI possibly by improving the function of the ionotropic glutamate receptors.
Animals ; Spinal Cord Injuries/drug therapy* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Ionotropic Glutamate/metabolism* ; Recovery of Function/drug effects* ; Orexins/pharmacology* ; Male ; Female ; Animals, Newborn ; Neuropeptides/pharmacology* ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/pharmacology*

OBJECTIVES: To explore the therapeutic mechanism of Chaihu Shugan (CHSG) Decoction for improving cognitive impairment in rats with epilepsy induced by lithium chloride and pilocarpine. METHODS: Male SD rat models of cognitive impairment model after epilepsy induced by intraperitoneal injection with lithium chloride and pilocarpine were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=12) for treatment with daily gavage of saline, donepezil (90 mg/kg), or CHSG Decoction at 2.5, 5.0, 10, 20 and 40 g/kg for 4 consecutive weeks, with 10 rats with intraperitoneal injection with saline as the blank control group. Morris water maze test was used to evaluate cognitive and behavioral changes of the rats after treatment. The mRNA and protein expressions of ASIC1, NR1, NR2A and NR2B in the hippocampus of rats were detected using RT-qPCR and Western blotting. RESULTS: Compared with those with saline treatment, the rat models treated with CHSG Decoction at 5 and 10 g/kg showed significantly shortened escape latency and prolonged stay in the target quadrant with increased number of platform crossings in Morris water maze test. CHSG Decoction treatment at the two doses significantly increased ASIC1, NR1, NR2A and NR2B protein expressions in the hippocampus of the rat models, and their mRNA expression levels were all increased significantly after the treatment at the doses above 2.5 g/kg. CONCLUSIONS CHSG Decoction can improve cognitive impairment in rats after epilepsy possibly by regulating the expression and channel activity of NMDAR protein and its subunit protein via upregulating ASIC1 to modulate neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus.
Animals ; Hippocampus/drug effects* ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/metabolism* ; Acid Sensing Ion Channels/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Male ; Rats ; Epilepsy/complications* ; Cognitive Dysfunction/drug therapy* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Up-Regulation ; Maze Learning

OBJECTIVES: To clarify the role of hippocampal glutamate system in regulating HPA axis in mediating the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at the heart meridian for improving myocardial injury in rats with acute myocardial ischemia (AMI). METHODS: Male SD rats were randomized into sham-operated group, AMI group, EA group, and L-glutamic acid+EA group (n=9). Rat models of AMI were established by left descending coronary artery ligation, and EA was applied at the "Shenmen-Tongli" segment; the rats in L-glutamic acid+EA group were subjected to microinjection of L-glutamic acid into the bilateral hippocampus prior to AMI modeling and EA treatment. Cardiac functions of the rats were evaluated using echocardiography, and ECG and heart rate variation (HRV) were analyzed using PowerLab and LabChart. Pathological changes in the myocardial tissue was examined using HE staining, and serum levels of myocardial enzymes were detected with ELISA. Myocardial expressions of TH and GAP43 were detected with immunohistochemistry, and colocalization of VGLUT1, VGLUT2 and c-fos were observed using immunofluorescence staining; the expressions of VGLUT1, VGLUT2, NMDAR1 and NMDAR2B were detected using Western blotting. RESULTS: The rat models of AMI showed significantly decreased LVEF and LVFS and increased serum levels of myocardial enzymes in positive correlation with the HPA axis. Numerous TH- and GAP43-positive cells were observed in the hippocampus, where the expressions of NE and E, neurons colabeled with VGLUT1, VGLUT2 and c-fos, and expressions of VGLUT1, VGLUT2, NMDAR1, NMDAR2B and Glu increased significantly. All these changes were significantly improved by interventions with EA as compared with those in AMI and L-Glutamate+EA groups. CONCLUSIONS In rats with AMI, EA at the heart meridian can regulate excessive glutamate release in the hippocampus, thereby inhibiting HPA axis hyperactivity and reducing sympathetic nerve activity to protect the myocardial tissue.
Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Hippocampus/metabolism* ; Rats ; Glutamic Acid/metabolism* ; Myocardial Ischemia/physiopathology* ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/physiopathology* ; Pituitary-Adrenal System/physiopathology* ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/metabolism*

Growth arrest DNA damage-inducible protein 45 β (GADD45B) has been reported to be a regulatory factor for active DNA demethylation and is implicated in the modulation of synaptic plasticity and chronic stress-related psychopathological processes. However, its precise role and mechanism of action in stress susceptibility remain elusive. In this study, we found a significant reduction in GADD45B expression specifically in the ventral, but not the dorsal hippocampal CA1 (dCA1) of stress-susceptible mice. Furthermore, we demonstrated that GADD45B negatively regulates susceptibility to social stress and NMDA receptor-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) in the ventral hippocampal CA1 (vCA1). Importantly, through pharmacological inhibition using the NMDA receptor antagonist MK801, we provided further evidence supporting the hypothesis that GADD45B potentially modulates susceptibility to social stress by influencing NMDA receptor-mediated LTP. Collectively, these results suggested that modulation of NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic plasticity is a pivotal mechanism underlying the regulation of susceptibility to social stress by GADD45B.
Animals ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/antagonists & inhibitors* ; CA1 Region, Hippocampal/drug effects* ; Male ; Stress, Psychological/physiopathology* ; Mice ; Neuronal Plasticity/drug effects* ; Long-Term Potentiation/drug effects* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Antigens, Differentiation/metabolism* ; Dizocilpine Maleate/pharmacology* ; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists/pharmacology* ; GADD45 Proteins

Learning-associated functional plasticity at hippocampal synapses remains largely unexplored. Here, in a single session of reward-based trace conditioning, we examine learning-induced synaptic plasticity in the dorsal CA1 hippocampus (dCA1). Local field-potential recording combined with selective optogenetic inhibition first revealed an increase of dCA1 synaptic responses to the conditioned stimulus (CS) induced during conditioning at both Schaffer collaterals to the stratum radiatum (Rad) and temporoammonic input to the lacunosum moleculare (LMol). At these dCA1 inputs, synaptic potentiation of CS-responding excitatory synapses was further demonstrated by locally blocking NMDA receptors during conditioning and whole-cell recording sensory-evoked synaptic responses in dCA1 neurons from naive animals. An overall similar time course of the induction of synaptic potentiation was found in the Rad and LMol by multiple-site recording; this emerged later and saturated earlier than conditioned behavioral responses. Our experiments demonstrate a cued memory-associated dCA1 synaptic plasticity induced at both Schaffer collaterals and temporoammonic pathways.
Animals ; CA1 Region, Hippocampal/physiology* ; Male ; Association Learning/physiology* ; Neuronal Plasticity/physiology* ; Cues ; Memory/physiology* ; Synapses/physiology* ; Conditioning, Classical/physiology* ; Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials/physiology* ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Rats ; Optogenetics

Chronic visceral pain is a persistent and debilitating condition arising from dysfunction or sensitization of the visceral organs and their associated nervous pathways. Increasing evidence suggests that imbalances in central nervous system function play an essential role in the progression of visceral pain, but the exact mechanisms underlying the neural circuitry and molecular targets remain largely unexplored. In the present study, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) was shown to mediate visceral pain in mice. Visceral pain stimulation increased c-Fos expression and Ca²⁺ activity of glutamatergic VTA neurons, and optogenetic modulation of glutamatergic VTA neurons altered visceral pain. In particular, the upregulation of NMDA receptor 2A (NR2A) subunits within the VTA resulted in visceral pain in mice. Administration of a selective NR2A inhibitor decreased the number of visceral pain-induced c-Fos positive neurons and attenuated visceral pain. Pharmacology combined with chemogenetics further demonstrated that glutamatergic VTA neurons regulated visceral pain behaviors based on NR2A. In summary, our findings demonstrated that the upregulation of NR2A in glutamatergic VTA neurons plays a critical role in visceral pain. These insights provide a foundation for further comprehension of the neural circuits and molecular targets involved in chronic visceral pain and may pave the way for targeted therapies in chronic visceral pain.
Animals ; Male ; Visceral Pain/metabolism* ; Up-Regulation/physiology* ; Ventral Tegmental Area/metabolism* ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Neurons/drug effects* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos/metabolism* ; Chronic Pain/metabolism* ; Glutamic Acid/metabolism*

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder affecting ~65 million individuals worldwide. Abnormal synaptic plasticity is one of the most important pathological features of this condition. We investigated how ubiquitin-specific peptidase 47 (USP47) influences synaptic plasticity and its link to epilepsy. We found that USP47 enhanced excitatory postsynaptic transmission and increased the density of total dendritic spines and the proportion of mature dendritic spines. Furthermore, USP47 inhibited the degradation of the ubiquitinated α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) subunit glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1), which is associated with synaptic plasticity. In addition, elevated levels of USP47 were found in epileptic mice, and USP47 knockdown reduced the frequency and duration of seizure-like events and alleviated epileptic seizures. To summarize, we present a new mechanism whereby USP47 regulates excitatory postsynaptic plasticity through the inhibition of ubiquitinated GluR1 degradation. Modulating USP47 may offer a potential approach for controlling seizures and modifying disease progression in future therapeutic strategies.
Animals ; Receptors, AMPA/metabolism* ; Neuronal Plasticity/physiology* ; Seizures/physiopathology* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice ; Ubiquitin Thiolesterase/genetics* ; Male ; Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials/physiology* ; Ubiquitination ; Dendritic Spines/metabolism* ; Hippocampus/metabolism*