Mohammad Wasil Wesal’s research while affiliated with American University of Afghanistan and other places

An annotated checklist of the spiders of Afghanistan, comprising 253 species in 134 genera and 32 families, is provided. The list includes 96 and 13 currently considered endemic and subendemic species, respectively. A separate list of rejected records is also presented.

The taxonomy of the genus Spariolenus Simon, 1880 (Heteropodinae) is updated in its entire distribution range in South and West Asia. Newly collected specimens and historical museum material were studied, some date back to more than 124 years. Four new species are described as Spariolenus omidvarbrothers sp. n. (male, female) from southeastern Iran, S. baluchistanicus sp. n. (female) from Pakistan and, S. bakasura sp. n. (male, female) and S. kabandha sp. n. (female) from the Western Ghats and northern regions of India, respectively; specimens of the latter three species had been previously incorrectly identified as S. tigris Simon, 1880. Spariolenus lindbergi (Roewer, 1962) comb. nov. is transferred from the genus Heteropoda Latreille, 1804. We discovered and described its male for the first time, along with redescription of the female using recently collected material near the type locality from Afghanistan. Two species, Spariolenus mansourii Moradmand, 2017 (Iran) and S. secundus Jäger, 2006 (Oman) are recorded from new geographic localities. A distribution map of all extant Spariolenus species with updated records is presented.

Studies have shown that brain histamine has a role in seizure pathophysiology. Histamine acts by four distinct receptor subtypes (H1R–H4R). Previous reports signified the anticonvulsant activity of histamine H3R antagonists. We evaluated the effect of intra-amygdala injection of pitolisant the H3R inverse agonist on seizures induced by the electrical kindling model of epilepsy. Eighteen adult male rats with an approximate weight of 300g were used. A tri-polar electrode twisted with the guide cannula, and two monopolar electrodes were implanted into the basolateral amygdala or the surface of the skull using stereotaxic surgery. One week after surgery, the threshold was determined in the animals. Twenty-four hours afterward, the animals received six stimuli daily with the threshold intensity until the generation of three consecutive stages five seizures. Then, saline, and 24 hours later, pitolisant at three doses (1, 10, and 100μg) were injected into the amygdala in distinct rats. Thirty minutes after injection of the drug or its solvent, seizure parameters including after-discharge duration (ADD), seizure stage (SS), and stage five duration (S5D) were recorded. Data analysis indicated that pitolisant reduced S5D at all doses, significantly. Pitolisant at the dose of 100µg also decreased ADD and SS, significantly. However, pitolisant at the doses of 1 and 10µg did not change ADD and SS. The dose-response curves showed that the anticonvulsant activity of pitolisant changed in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, the results confirmed the powerful anticonvulsant effects of pitolisant in the electrical kindling model of epilepsy.