Browsing by Author "Vinet, Raul"

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    Improving Amphetamine Therapeutic Selectivity: N,N-dimethyl-MTA has Dopaminergic Effects and does not Produce Aortic Contraction
    (2014) Sotomayor-Zarate, Ramon; Jara, Pablo; Araos, Patricio; Vinet, Raul; Quiroz, Gabriel; Renard, Georgina M.; Espinosa, Pedro; Hurtado-Guzman, Claudio; Moya, Pablo R.; Iturriaga-Vasquez, Patricio; Gysling, Katia; Reyes-Parada, Miguel
    Amphetamine derivatives have therapeutic potential in diseases such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, narcolepsy and obesity. However, their prolonged use has been associated with cardiovascular toxicity and addiction. In recent years, we have studied the pharmacological effects of amphetamine derivatives such as methylthioamphetamine (MTA) and N,N-dimethyl-thioamphetamine, with the aim of improving their therapeutic selectivity. In this work, we show that similarly to MTA, N,N-dimethyl-thioamphetamine has effects on the dopamine system, producing a significant increase in extracellular levels of dopamine (as measured by in vivo brain microdialysis) and locomotor activity, which is a behavioural measure of dopaminergic activation. However, unlike MTA, N,N-dimethyl- thioamphetamine does not produce aortic contraction in vitro. Our results show that N,N-dimethyl-thioamphetamine is a drug that retains the dopaminergic effects of amphetamine derivatives but exhibits a lower potential for producing cardiovascular side effects.
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    Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge and use of medicinal plants in a rural area of the metropolitan region of Chile: descriptive study
    (2014) Barraza, Francisco; Calvo, Carlos; Silva, Mauricio; Vinet, Raul; Laurido, Claudio; Barrera, Elizabeth; Meza, Ines; Vargas-Rueda, Silvia; Martinez, Jose L.
    In order to characterize and evaluate the botanical knowledge belonging to the population in rural area (little addressed by the ethnobotany) a study was conducted through surveys to learn about medicinal plants cultivated and used and a rural area of the Metropolitan Region (San Juan de Pirque). The conclusions are that users have a hybrid knowledge (product of traditional knowledge combined with information of various kinds) of medicinal plants. We found that most of the species cultivated in botanical gardens were species introduced and very few native ones. Also, they were known by their common names and new names were detected not described previously in the literature.