Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

the use of positron emission tomography (PET), researchers have been able to observe a loss of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) early on in the progression of the disease (Okada et…

Acetylcholine has two types of receptors: muscarinic and nicotinic, these receptors are functionally and structurally different. Nicotinic receptors are ionotropic, meaning that ions flow through it when acetylcholine binds to it. It acts as a channel for the ions that cross it, especially sodium, and this causes the depolarization of the cell. There are two types of nicotinic receptors formed by different subunits, N1 are found in the neuromuscular junctions allowing muscle movement, and N2 is…

1950’s. Today this alkaloid is produced from Narcissus spp., Leucojum spp., other bulbous species of the Amaryllidaceae family, and also synthetically (Marco-Contelles, Carreiras, Rodríguez, Villarroya, & García, 2006). All of these plants are effective at imitating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in addition to acetylcholinesterase receptors (AChE) (Lilienfeld, 2006). Galantamine is the only drug that has a dual mechanism of action acting on both nAchR allosterically and inhibiting…

the stretch receptors, and subsequently demonstrate that the peristalsis reflex is neuronal in origin and not just a property of the muscle itself. Several drugs including lignocaine, atropine, hexamethonium, and nicardipine were induced to a piece of guinea pig ileum under a standard hydrostatic pressure of 5.0 cm/H2O, and hence the effects determined that the peristalsis reflex is dependent on neuronal activity. The results of the experiment confirmed with the hypothesis, which stated that…

The recent description of an immunomodulatory circuit for the neural inhibition of inflammation, called the "cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway," has aroused keen interest in the class of cholinergic agents. Thus, the natural products have been a constant source of new approaches for the treatment of AD, especially alkaloids. For example, galantamine (Galanthus woronowii), is a selective inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, allosteric modulator of the central nicotinic receptor, inhibits βA…

Both of these drugs are antagonists. Atropine has an antagonising effect on the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors caused prevention of acetylcholine (Ach) release from excitatory motor neurons (Dale et al., 2015). Hexamethonium on the other hand is a nicotinic cholinergic antagonist. It is also often referred to as a prototypical ganglionic blocker. Finally we had Nicardipine. Nicardipine is a calcium entry blocker, also known as a calcium ion antagonist. It inhibits the calcium channels from…

Pharmacology- Practical based exercise Introduction/ aims Acetylcholine (ACH) is a neurotransmitter which operate in the brain, ACH are known as cholinergic because they are released from both the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems, (Colovic, 2013). There are drugs which look to copy these effects or inhibit them, they are known as cholinergic drugs. ACH has two types of receptors, nicotinic and muscarinic receptors. Nicotine acts as antagonists for nicotinic receptors, by blocking these…

innervations to various organs, including the heart, lungs, esophagus, trachea, stomach, small intestine, liver, pancreas, numerous blood vessels, etc. Preganglionic neurons originate in dorsal vagal nucleus and postganglionic neurons originate in or near visceral organs innervated. Broad parasympathetic effects, includes reducing the heart rate and blood pressure, increasing the production of stomach acid, stimulating the movement of food through the intestines and keeping the larynx open for…

common neurodegenerative disease that accounts for the majority of all cases of dementia (Advokat, Comaty & Julien, 2014). Although the exact cause of Alzheimer’s is unknown, it is hypothesized that two systems crucial for the communication between brain cells fail due to the down regulation of acetylcholine and the over activation of glutamate, which result in the death of neurons (IOS Press, 2008). It is believed to involve the irreversible loss of cholinergic neurons, specifically in the…

Introduction Some people believe that we have only one type of muscle in our bodies that help us with all different types of tasks, however; not only do our bodies have different muscle types, they also contain different muscle fibers that are used for different activities. Skeletal muscle contain three types of muscle fibers: slow twitch, fast twitch oxidative, and fast twitch glycolytic. Most muscles in our bodies have different combinations of these muscle fibers, although our body recruits…