Motion and Drug Induced Emesis in Suncus Murinus

Abstract

<p>There remains a great need for a more efficacious and universally effective antiemetic (anti-nausea/vomiting). The needs range from chemo-and radiation therapy patients, those with various illnesses and disorders and those exposed to provocative motion. Research has been conducted using cats, dogs, pigeons, ferrets, pigs and shrews as emetic models. The research at Wright State University uses the Japanese house musk shrew (Suncus Murinus) as a model species. These are a continuation of our initial studies using cats in which we discovered a novel mechanism to prevent vomiting produced by all known stimuli. Three emetic stimuli using different pathways to stimulate the vomiting coordinating area were used to evaluate the breadth of the efficacy of a proprietary drug devoid of the side effects that plagued the initial studies. Motion sickness (vestibular pathway) was elicited using linear horizontal motion of 30 mm at 1 Hz for ten minutes. Nicotine (chemical trigger zone) was injected at 4 and 10 mg/kg subcutaneously and observed for 30 minutes. Cisplatin (chemotherapy; vagus nerve) was injected intraperitoneally at the dose of 10 mg/kg and they were observed for two hours. All tests were given with one week intervals to prevent conditioned emesis. The proprietary drug was effective against each stimulus and pharmaceutical support is being sought for further development.</p><p>This presentation occurred at the Wright State University Campus-Wide Celebration of Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities on April 16, 2010</p>