Excitatory amino acid receptor mechanism

MacDonald, J. F. and Nowak, L. M., Mechanisms of blockade of excitatory amino acid receptor channels, TIPS, 11(4), 167-172, 1990. 

Topiramate (Topamax). Topiramate is used primarily as an adjunct to other medications in adults with partial seizures. This drug appears to limit seizure activity through several complimentary mechanisms including inhibition of sodium channel opening, blockade of excitatory amino acid receptors, and stimulation of GABA receptors.2,41 Primary side effects include sedation, dizziness, fatigue, and ataxia. 

Lodge D, Bond A (1994) Excitatory amino acid receptors in the spinal cord. In Urban L (Ed), Cellular Mechanisms of Sensory Processing The Somatosensory System. NATO ASI Series H Cell Biology, Vol 79. Berlin Springer, pp 173-183. 

Miller, R. and Slaughter, M. (1986). Excitatory amino acid receptors of the retina diversity of subtypes and conductance mechanisms. Trends Neurosci. 9 211-218. 

These receptors function in the excitatory neurotransmission pathway in the CNS, together with various excitatory amino-acid receptors. The activity of glutamate excitatory neurotransmission is a complex process that involves co-transmission and summation. The effectiveness of the active transporter mechanisms responsible for clearing glutamate from the synaptic cleft heavily influences the activity of these receptors. At a cellular level, the permeability of calcium in the CNS is controlled by excitatory neurotransmission. This explains why excitatory neurotransmission exerts its... 

Various studies have been conducted on excitatory amino acids and their receptors to explain the neuronal cell death (necrosis) after cerebral ischemia. The mechanism of ischemia-induced neuronal damage and the efficacies of antagonists were reviewed by Hara et al. (1994). Recendy, using caspase-1 knockout or transgenic mice (Friedlander et al., 1997) and Bcl-2 transgenic mice (Martinou et al., 1994), it was shown that the neuronal cell death induced by cerebral ischemia includes apoptosis. 

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