dihydroergotoxine and Body-Weight

In a previous study the decline in the motor performance of old rats was determined to be differential. In this study, whether, and to what extent, this decline can be pharmacologically influenced was tested. Therefore, 27 month old rats were orally treated with several nootropics and d-amphetamine for six weeks. Food and water intake were determined. The rats were tested on spontaneous activity and on the tilting plane, climbing, and rotarod tests. The results showed that the nootropics only effected pronounced improvements on complex motor tasks such as on the rotarod test. In contrast, amphetamine treatment caused rather negative effects. This could be observed in the motor performance as well as in the food and water intake. Young rats did not have this sort of reaction to amphetamine. The nootropics were all well tolerated. Additionally, it was obvious that the untreated rats also showed a slight improvement in motor performance due to repeated practice.

Topics: Aging; Animals; Body Weight; Dextroamphetamine; Dihydroergotoxine; Female; Meclofenoxate; Motor Activity; Piracetam; Pyrithioxin; Pyrrolidinones; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains

Topics: Acetyl-CoA Hydrolase; Acetylcholinesterase; Animals; Body Weight; Brain; Choline O-Acetyltransferase; Dihydroergotoxine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Ethanol; Glutamate Decarboxylase; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Motor Activity; Neurotransmitter Agents

The residual effects of dihydroergotoxine mesylate (DHET: active substance of Hydergine), ethanol, and DHET + ethanol were investigated in aging male mice. Prolonged alcohol or DHET consumption was found to prolong hexobarbital sleeping time and increase oxygen consumption. Administration of alcohol combined with DHET inhibited the ability of each drug to prolong hexobarbital sleeping time and increase oxygen consumption. There were no significant differences between groups in forebrain synaptosomal (Na+-K+) adenosine- triphosphatase and acetylcholinesterase activity or cerebellar protein, DNA and RNA content. The relative proportion of phospholipid to protein in isolated myelin of the medulla was significantly reduced, whereas the sphingomyelin content of total phospholipid was highest in alcohol-treated mice. Conocomitant treatment of mice with alcohol combined with DHET prevented the physiological and neurochemical changes caused by alcohol and, in some cases, DHET, administered alone.

Topics: Acetylcholinesterase; Adenosine Triphosphatases; Alcohol Drinking; Animals; Body Weight; Brain; Cerebellum; Dihydroergotoxine; DNA; Ethanol; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Motor Activity; Myelin Proteins; Oxygen Consumption; Potassium; RNA; Sleep; Sodium; Synaptosomes

The residual effects of dihydroergotoxine (Hydergine), ethanol, and Hydergine-plus-ethanol were investigated in old male mice of the C57BL/6J strain. Prolonged 10% v/v ethanol, concomitant with adequate nutrition, produced a significant decrease in life-span, decreased spontaneous locomotor activity and reduced lipofuscin accumulation in neurons of the reticularis gigantocellularis. These effects were not apparent in mice treated with Hydergine or alcohol combined with Hydergine.

Topics: Aging; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Body Weight; Brain; Dihydroergotoxine; Ethanol; Locomotion; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Neurons; Organ Size; Time Factors

Topics: Adolescent; Biomedical Research; Blood; Blood Glucose; Body Weight; Carbohydrate Metabolism; Dihydroergotoxine; Epinephrine; Ergot Alkaloids; Fatty Acids; Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; Glucose; Hyperglycemia; Injections, Intravenous; Lipid Metabolism; Lipids; Pharmacology; Sympathetic Nervous System; Sympatholytics