Pharmacology and Neuroscience
Dr. Howard K. Strahlendorf
Associate Professor of Pharmacology
Ph.D., 1979, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science
Neuronal Electrophysiology / Signal Transduction Mechanisms / Intracellular Calcium / Neuropathology of Alcohol.
Recent etiological and epidemiological studies increasingly link exposure to environmental factors such as agricultural pesticides to development of Parkinson's disease and other neurologic and psychiatric neurodegenerative disorders. This laboratory is testing a global hypothesis that select neurotransmitters and their metabolic by-products, in addition to known actions that mediate neuron-to-neuron signaling, can elicit paradoxical toxic actions on neurons. These neurotoxic effects are potentially dependent on interactions between environmental risk factors (pesticides or food chain contaminants) and these novel cell death-promoting molecules contained in neurons that synergize to elicit a myriad of programmed cell death paradigms via multiple intracellular pathways and cellular effectors. Current studies are investigating: a) whether low levels of pesticides and compounds commonly found in the environment or foods can interact with neurotransmitters and their by-products to cause death of neurons; and b) what intracellular pathways and cellular mechanisms are mediating these novel toxic actions. Combinations of conventional neurochemical, electrophysiological and confocal fluorescent imaging approaches are used in these experiments. Results of these investigations are relevant to our further understanding of the causes of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and will help define logical therapeutic interventions for treatment and prevention.
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Representative Publications
Chang, W., J.C. Strahlendorf and H.K. Strahlendorf (1993) Ionic contributions to the oscillatory firing activity of rat Purkinje cells in vitro. Brain Research, 614:335-341.
Fung, S.J., J.Y.H. Chan, D. Manzoni, S.R. White, Y.-Y. Lai, H.K Strahlendorf, H. Zhuo, V.K. Readdy, R.-H. Lui and C.D. Barnes. (1994) Cotransmitter-mediated locus coeruleus actions on motoneurons. Brain Research Bull., 35:423-432.
Strahlendorf, J.C., S. Acosta and H.K. Strahlendorf (1996) Diazoxide and cyclothiazide convert AMPA-induced dark cell degeneration of Purkinje cells to edematous damage in the cerebellar slice. Brain Research, in press.
For further information contact Dr.Howard K. Strahlendorf