title: Age-related influence of piracetam on mitotic index and number of silver-stained nucleolus organizer regions.
abstract: Mitotic indices and the number of silver-positive nucleolus organizer regions (AgNORs) were scored in phytohemagglutinin-stimulated cultures of peripheral lymphocytes from two age groups of females (mean = 23.1 and 84.0 yr, respectively) under the influence of Piracetam (2-oxo-pyrrolidine-1-acetamid; Nootropil, Reg. No. 17051) and in simultaneously set up control cultures without Piracetam addition. Piracetam concentrations of 10, 14 and 16 mg/ml culture medium produced a highly significant, decreasing effect on both parameters tested, without an age-related difference. Lower Piracetam concentrations (2 and 4 mg/ml culture medium) showed a depressant effect on some of the cultures only; but, on average, there was a rather equal, significant, dose-dependent, linear decrease of the mitotic indices of both age groups, whereas the suppressive effect on the number of AgNORs was significant in cultures from the young females only.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, University of Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vormittag
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ensinger
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lesjakovic
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Scheiber
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008940:Mitotic Index / Q000187:drug effects*; D009697:Nucleolus Organizer Region / Q000187:drug effects*; D010889:Piracetam / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010889:Piracetam