Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Sasha Scanlon WCCC/ Spring Semester 2015 A&P II/ Matt S. The Effects of Varied Substances on a Daphnia’s Heart Rate. Introduction: The purpose of this experiment was to compare the resting heart rate of a Daphnia, to its heart rate after 5 different substances were tested on it: Aspirin, Nasal Spray, Alka Seltzer, Coffee and Tea. Daphnia’s are often used as an experimental animal in lab settings because they are small, have a short life span and are easily maintained,…

Rufinamide (Banzel) was designated as an orphan drug for use in the treatment of seizures that are caused by Lennox—Gastaut syndrome in patients older than four in 2004 by the FDA (Food and Drug Adminsitration).¬¬¬¬¬1 Lennox—Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a epileptic disease, commonly found in children, that is characterized a high rate of injury from seizures as well as a wide range of treatment-resistant seizures. In the past treatments were inadequate, leaving patients without much, but after the…

To understand the effects of agonists and competitive antagonists the receptors involved must be identified first. There are 2 major groups of receptors present in rat ileum, the first being 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptors and the second, muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChR) – and of these two groups there are certain subtypes in the ileum contributing to its tone, motility, secretion and blood flow. The 5-HT receptor subtypes most prevalent in the rat ileum were, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B,…

One of the drugs used to help improve muscle contraction and increase muscle contraction are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. This allows acetylcholine to be bound to the few available receptors for longer amount time. In general, this approach is mostly beneficial for patients who have a milder form oft the disease. Furthermore, inhibitors like pyridostigmine may cause bradycardia, particularly in elderly patients…

Introduction Myasthenia gravis is a neuromuscular autoimmune disorder that affects the skeletal muscles in the body. This disorder is mainly characterized by periods of weakness in the body. The Latin meaning for myasthenia gravis is grave muscle weakness (Lewis 2007). In the United States the prevalence rate is 14 per 100,000 (Lewis 2007) myasthenia gravis can affect any age, but normally it affects people over the age of 50 (Lewis 2007) The mortality rate from myasthenia gravis…

muscles and the nerves that control them. With myasthenia gravis, the body produces antibodies that block the muscle cells from receiving messages (neurotransmitters) from the nerve, which causes weakness of the voluntary muscles. Therefore, fewer receptors are available for stimulation, resulting in voluntary muscle weakness that escaltes with continued activity (Hinkle & Cheever, 2013). Myasthenia gravis can affect people at any age but is most common in young women and older men. The muscle…

A range of concentrations (1nM to 30μM) of acetylcholine (Ach) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) was administered to organ bath containing rat ileum. Ach and 5-HT induced contractions from 3nM (Fig. 1) and 10nM (Fig. 2) onwards respectively, both generating a shallow slope at the beginning of the concentration-response curve. EC50 of Ach is 7.47 x 10-7M whereas EC50 of 5-HT is 7.97 x 10-7M. The contraction generated by Ach and 5-HT was expressed in % Emax. As shown in Fig. 1 and 2, % Emax…

The condition predominantly affects the cerebral and hippocampus, which lose mass and shrink as the disease advances. The two major neurotransmitters that are affected in the disease are acetylcholine (ACh) and Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) (Health Communities). According to Dr. Stanley Swierzewki of Health Communities ACh is a neurotransmitter essential for processing memory and learning and NFTs are twisted remnants of a protein called tau…

Passive Forces in Limb Movements: Help or Hindrance Introduction Most animals are enabled to move because of contractions and relations of muscles. Vertebrates and invertebrates movement is initiated by a combination of both passive and active forces (Linke, Granzier and Kellermayer, 2003). Passive forces in muscles are forces that develop when an inactive muscle is stretched from its resting length in resistance of the induced stretch. Passive force in the limbs movement of both vertebrate and…

Alpha-actinin-3 is a protein that is encoded by the “athletic gene”, ACTN3, in humans. ACTN3 is located at the long arm of chromosome 11 and encodes for the expression of alpha-actinin-3 protein in fast glycolytic muscle fibers. Fast glycolytic fibers, or type IIb, are responsible for the generation of rapid forceful contractions. There are some individuals who do not have a working version of this gene, which causes the muscle protein to not be created. These individuals are said to have the…