On the mechanism of action of Encephabol

Highly sensitive voltamperometric determination of pyritinol using carbon nanofiber/gold nanoparticle composite screen-printed carbon electrode

A novel and highly sensitive electrochemical method for the detection of pyritinol in pharmaceutical products and serum samples has been accomplished based on voltamperometric response of pyritinol in carbon nanofiber-gold nanoparticle (CNF-GNP)-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE). The electrochemical response of pyritinol to CNF-GNP-modified SPCE was studied by cyclic voltammetry and square-wave voltammetry (SWV). Under optimized working conditions, the novel sensor shows excellent voltamperometric response toward pyritinol. The SWV study shows significantly enhanced electrochemical response for pyritinol in CNF-GNP-modified SPCE providing high sensitivity to the novel sensor for pyritinol detection. The peak current for pyritinol is found to be linear with the concentration in the range 1.0×10^-8-5.0×10^-5 M with a detection limit of 6.23×10^-9 M using SWV as the detection method. The viability of the new developed sensor for the analytical purposes was studied by performing experiments on various commercial pharmaceutical products and blood serum samples, which yielded adequate recoveries of pyritinol. The novel electrochemical sensor provides high sensitivity, enhanced selectivity, good reproducibility and practical applicability.

Increase in acetylcholine concentrations in the brain of 'old' rats following treatment with pyrithioxin (Encephabol)

Treatment of old rats, for two to three weeks, with pyrithioxin led to an increase in the levels of endogenous acetylcholine (ACh) in the cortex and the striatum but not in the hippocampus. Pretreatment of old rats with pyrithioxin also increased the resting release and the K+ stimulated release of radioactive ACh from brain slices in vitro.