Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0011570 (depression)
 172,036 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Some symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are related to central nervous system adrenergic hyperarousal. It has been suggested that an adrenergic receptor-blocker could be used to diminish, if not alleviate, the target symptoms of PTSD. Severely traumatized Cambodian refugee patients (N = 68) who suffered from chronic PTSD and major depression improved symptomatically when treated with a combination of clonidine and imipramine. A prospective pilot study of nine patients using this combination of an alpha-2 adrenergic agonist and a tricyclic antidepressant resulted in improved symptoms of depression in six patients, five to the point that DSM-III-R diagnoses were no longer met. The average decrease in the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score was 16. PTSD global symptoms improved in six patients but only in two to the point that DSM-III-R diagnoses were not met. There was no further sleep disorder in five and the frequency of nightmares lessened in seven patients. Startle reaction improved only in four patients; avoidance behavior showed little improvement in any of the nine. The imipramine-clonidine combination was well tolerated and presents a promising treatment for severely depressed and traumatized patients, although further studies are needed.
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PMID:Clonidine in Cambodian patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. 202 59

The reticular formation of the brain stem participates in the neuronal activity which is evoked by an unexpected or intense stimulus and results in a generalized (startle) reaction of the organism. If this reaction is evoked from the segmental receptor level, it comprises a spino-reticulo-spinal (i.e. spino-bulbo-spinal--SBS) reflex. Repetition of the stimulus leads to a habituation of the startle reaction. We studied the effect of repetition and the frequency of the stimulus on the SBS reflex response in somatic nerves of chloralose-anaesthetized cats. A series of 60 stimuli with a low stimulus repetition frequency (less than or equal to 0.2 Hz) did not induce any trend in changes in SBS responses. Frequencies of 0.5 and 1 Hz in some cases led to sensitization or depression of SBS discharges, while higher frequencies (2 and 5 Hz) caused a depression and a decrease in the incidence of SBS response in efferent discharges in every case. These changes occurred promptly (in the course of 5-15 stimuli at a given frequency); continued stimulation did not induce a habituation trend in the changes of SBS responses. When a series of stimuli with a frequency causing a change in the functional state of the SBS system ended, SBS responses returned to control values in the course of the first 5 stimuli at the basic stimulation frequency (0.2 Hz), except for a few cases in which a persistence of the change in SBS responses was observed. The findings showed that a protracted repetition of the stimulus did not lead to the disappearance of the reticular formation reactions resulting in reticulospinal regulative commands in the form of SBS activity. The level of this activity is adapted promptly in correlation to the change in the stimulation parameters; with constant parameters, SBS activity is relatively constant.
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PMID:Reticulospinal regulative commands in the cat evoked at the segmental level: the effect of repetitive stimuli. 686 52

In cats anesthetized by chloralose the characteristics of a somaesthetic startle reaction (spino-bulbo-spinal reflex) essentially change during respiration; the magnitude of the responses recorded in the internal and external intercostal nerves as well as flexor hindlimb nerves was regularly less during the inspiration phase than during the expiration one. The phase changes were due to respiratory modulation of spino-bulbo-spinal transmission at the supraspinal level (brain stem reticular formation) and were determined mainly by its depression during inspiration.
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PMID:[Changes in spino-bulbo-spinal reflexes during the respiratory cycle in cats]. 730 Sep 49

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by inflammation, but also degenerative changes. Besides neurological deficits, the rate of affective disorders such as depression and anxiety is at least six fold increased. Many aspects of MS can be mimicked in the animal model of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (MOG-EAE). Here we investigate behavioral changes in C57BL/6 mice suffering from mild MOG-EAE. In the later phase of the disease, mice were subjected to behavioral tests including the light-dark-box (LD Box), the acoustic startle response (SR) with a pre-pulse inhibition protocol as well as the learned helplessness (LH) paradigm. Behavioral data were correlated with the motor performance in an open field and rotarod test (RR). In the RR and open field, there was no significant difference in the motor performance between controls and mice suffering from mild MOG-EAE. Yet EAE mice displayed an increased anxiety-like behavior with a 23% reduction of the time spent in the bright compartment of the LD Box as well as an increased SR. In the LH paradigm, mice suffering from MOG-EAE were twice as much prone to depressive-like behavior. These changes correlate with an increase of hippocampal tissue tumor necrosis factor alpha levels and neuronal loss in the hippocampus. Modulation of monoaminergic transmission by chronic application of the antidepressant amitriptyline resulted in a decreased startle reaction and increased hippocampal norepinephrine levels. These data imply that chronic inflammation in the CNS may impact on emotional responses in rodent models of anxiety.
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PMID:Inflammation modulates anxiety in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. 2125 14

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which regulates neuronal survival, growth differentiation, and synapse formation, is known to be associated with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the molecular mechanism for those mental disorders remains unknown. Studies have shown that BDNF is associated with PTSD risk and exaggerated startle reaction (a major arousal manifestation of PTSD) in United States military service members who were deployed during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The frequency of the Met/Met in BDNF gene was greater among those with PTSD than those without PTSD. Among individuals who experienced fewer lifetime stressful events, the Met carriers have significantly higher total and startle scores on the PTSD Checklist than the Val/Val carriers. In addition, subjects with PTSD showed higher levels of BDNF in their peripheral blood plasma than the non-probable-PTSD controls. Increased BDNF levels and startle response were observed in both blood plasma and brain hippocampus by inescapable tail shock in rats. In this paper, we reviewed these data to discuss BDNF as a potential biomarker for PTSD risk and its possible roles in the onset of PTSD.
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PMID:Post-traumatic stress disorder risk and brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met. 2701 93