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)

The clinical, pathological, and neurochemical characteristics of a newly recognized inherited neurological disorder are reported. Lethargy and mental depression are early symptoms, followed by mild parkinsonism and progressive weight loss. Failure of automatic respiratory control develops and may result in sudden death. Advanced degeneration of the substantia nigra, cell loss and gliosis of the basal ganglia, and focal gliosis in the medulla are seen on pathological study. Degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system is evidenced by low levels of tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine, homovanillic acid, and L-dopa decarboxylase in postmortem brain samples. Taurine concentrations in fasting plasma and CSF are somewhat depressed; brain contents of taurine are within normal limits.
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PMID:Familial fatal Parkinsonism with alveolar hypoventilation and mental depression. 4 4

The daily excretion of adenosine 3'5' cyclic monophosphate (c-AMP) in a group of 19 patients with a severe depressive illness was found to be significantly decreased when compared with that from a group of euthymic patients being treated for other disorders in the same ward. The daily excretion of the depressed patients increased during the period of treatment and recovery from the illness. Treatment with a tricyclic antidepressant caused a greater increase than electroconvulsive treatment (ECT). There was no difference between the mean plasma c-AMP concentration of the depressed and euthymic groups. The mean CSF-c-AMP concentration was not different from the mean plasma c-AMP concentration in 12 patients with severe depression. There was no direct correlation between the CSF and plasma concentrations within patients. It was concluded that there may be a reversible disturbance in the renal metabolism of c-AMP in patients with severe depression.
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PMID:Adenosine 3'5' cyclic monophosphate metabolism in patients with severe depressive illness. 19 39

Sleep and behavior of the rat were recorded during cerebroventricular infusion of artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) containing regular or excess concentrations of calcium. Three different types of aCSF were used for control infusions. Depending on the ionic composition, paradoxical sleep (PS) was reduced by 6--52% during a 1-h aCSF infusion period, whereas the total amount of sleep was not altered. The depression of PS by aCSF could be prevented by increasing the concentration of Ca in the infusate by a factor of 2--5 (2.6--9.1 mM). Infusions of high concentrations of Ca (9.1--54.6 mM) caused feeding and wet-dog shakes. A slow-wave cortical EEG pattern prevailed during feeding elicited by either infusion of excess Ca or systemic administration of a small dose of pentobarbital. It is concluded (a) that the ionic composition of the CSF may selectively influence the occurrence of a sleep state, and (b) that Ca-induced feeding may be related to a covert sedative action of this cation.
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PMID:Cerebral ventricular infusion of excess calcium in the rat: effects on sleep states, behavior and cortical EEG. 21 97

Piribedil, a compound that stimulates dopamine receptors in a relatively specific fashion, was administered to 11 hospitalized depressed patients. The dopamine agonist significantly decreased rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and percent REM sleep and increased REM latency. Piribedil decreased the probenecid-induced accumulation of the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid (HVA) in CSF. A range of mild to moderate antidepressant effects was noted; one patient worsened and one developed recurrent manic episodes. The degree of improvement in depression was negatively correlated with pretreatment values of HVA in CSF (r = -.66, P less than .05). These data suggest that the heterogeneity of clinical response may be related to biological differences in depressed patients and that those with low initial dopaminergic function respond best to increased dopamine receptor stimulation.
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PMID:Effects of a dopamine agonist piribedil in depressed patients: relationship of pretreatment homovanillic acid to antidepressant response. 21 97

There is a suggestive evidence for a relationship between central 5-HT and the occurrence of certain types of depressions. This evidence is derived from three sources: postmortem studies; measurement of CSF 5-HIAA; accumulation of CSF 5-HIAA after transport blockade by probenecid. Disturbances of central 5-HT metabolism are not typical for any depression but for certain types of vital (endogenous) depression. This implies that the group of vital depression, though tending towards homogeneity in terms of symptomatology, is heterogenous in biochemical terms and comprises patients with and without disorders in central 5-HT metabolism. It is plausible that disorders of the 5-HT metabolism play a role in the pathogenesis of depression, instead of resulting from them. This statement is based on the following findings: (i) 5-HTP can abolish or alleviate the depressive syndrome or some of its elements. (ii) This 5-HTP effect can be potentiated by clomipramine (Anafranil), a relative selective inhibitor of 5-HT reuptake. (iii) There exists a negative correlation between 5-HT turnover in the CNS and the therapeutic effect of clomipramine. The alleged distrurbances in central 5-HT are more likely to be predisposing than of direct causative significance. This assumption is based on two observations: (i) In more that 50% of cases, the 5-HT turnover remains low after clinical recovery, the patient being drug-free. (ii) There is suggestive evidence that abolition of the 5-HT deficit (by means of 5-HTP) exerts a prophylactic effect in uni-and bipolar depression.
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PMID:The Harold E. Himwich Memorial Lecture. Significance of biochemical parameters in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of depressive disorders. 30 32

Cytopherometry in neurologic diseases is discussed with regard to antigenic reactivity, the formation of cytokines and the direct changes of electrophoretic mobility of immune-competent cells. The Macrophage-Electrophoresis-Mobility (MEM) test, the variants of the method and additional techniques produced some results of diagnostic and immunpathologic value. A general and unspecific sensitization during cellular immune reaction in lesions of the nervous parenchyma was detectable. Using adequate antigens and extended methods of characterisation in the test system, differentiated reactivity, mainly of the inflammatory diseases and in some pathogenetic processes - including a defect of cell-membrane - was found. Typical findings were shown with the MEM-LAD (linoleic acid depression) test in M.S. This technique led to novel pathogenetic, family-genetic and therapeutic aspects. Similar diagnostic progress in various types of brain tumors was shown by using tumorassociated antigens. Analysis of specific factors of cellular immunity was extented by developing a thymosine assay and direct assessment of cytokines, especially fo the MSF (macrophage slowing factor) in the MSF assay. The thymosine assay may prove valuable for the cellular basis of immunologic processes (in particular myasthenia and therapeutic thymectomy). With the direct MSF assay a differentiated high MSF activity in the CSF in chronic neuroimmunologic processes and particularly in M.S. was shown which led to novel aspects of the immunology of the CSF. The characteristics of the MSF, found after column-chromatographic fractionation, showed identical zytokine activity in CSF and the supernatants of lymphocyte-antigen-incubation which lay in the lower range of molecular weight of migration inhibitory lymphokines.
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PMID:[Cytopherometry in neurologic diseases (author's transl)]. 33 99

Various dysphoric states are seen both in mood depression and on taking opiates. On the hypothesis that opiate antagonists would alter mood level, naloxone (Narcan), 0.4--0.8 mg t.i.d., was given to five depressed patients in six trials for a duration of 6--12 days. The CSF endorphin and monoamine metabolite content was analyzed before and after naloxone treatment. We observed no positive effect on mood level. However, an abrupt worsening of symptoms was noted in two cases on discontinuation of treatment. Decreasing values of endorphin Fraction I as a result of treatment was noted as a general trend. Fraction II, although elevated, showed no distinct trend. 5HIAA increased in four of the six trials. The results suggest that naloxone treatment changes endorphin and serotonin activity, though not to a clinically observable extent.
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PMID:Naloxone (Narcan) treatment in depression: clinical observations and effects on CSF endorphins and monoamine metabolites. 41 58

In a study of electrolytes in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (csf) from psychiatric patients, the authors found a positive correlation between calcium concentration and symptom severity in hospitalized depressed patients. CSF calcium levels tended to decrease as patients improved. In four rapidly cycling patients, CSF calcium was higher during depression than during mania. Mean CSF calcium for the depressed patients as a group was not significantly different from neurological controls or other psychiatric patients. Symptom remission from acute psychosis in schizophrenic patients was accompanied by a significant increase in CSF calcium concentration. These findings are discussed in relationship to calcium-induced alterations in neuronal and physiological excitability.
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PMID:CSF calcium: clinical correlates in affective illness and schizophrenia. 42 Sep 7

The evidence for disturbances of tryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptamine in depression and for various mechanisms by which such disturbances could occur is discussed. Two recent relevant studies in the author's laboratory are described: a) non-esterified fatty acid and total and free tryptophan were determined in plasmas of psychiatric patients unselected with respect to psychiatric diagnosis before and after a stress situation. Retarded patients had significantly low total and free tryptophan values which correlated negatively with agitation. Total tryptophan fell significantly after stress in the non-retarded subjects. The only biochemical abnormality significantly associated with a diagnosis of primary depression was the rise of plasma non-esterified fatty acid after stress. Thus tryptophan abnormalities were associated more with psychiatric rating scores than with diagnoses. b) Determinations on plasma and lumbar and ventricular CSF from psychiatric patients undergoing psychosurgery indicate that low plasma free tryptophan concentrations are associated with decreased 5HT turnover in the central nervous system.
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PMID:Study of disturbed tryptophan metabolism in depressive illness. 44 10

This study attempted to clarify sources of artefact in biochemical studies with affective disorders in which 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy phenylglycol (MHPG) is used as a measurement of change in central nervous system norepinephrine (NE) turnover. Substantial increases in urinary MHPG excretion occurred in ten of the 11 patients when they increased their level of physical activity (0.5 +/- .14 mg/12 hrs versus 1.54 +/- .49 mg/12 hrs). Increases were also observed in NE (19.2 +/- 5.1 microgram/12 hrs versus 25.2 +/- 3.7 microgram/12 hrs). In four patients in whom cerebrospinal fluid MHPG levels were obtained a consistent increase of MHPG levels was observed during the activity period. Elevation of these metabolites were not correlated with changes in depression as reflected by psychiatric observation and rating scales. These data reveal a considerable amount of lability in urinary and CSF MHPG levels in the face of an unchanging affective state. They ask for careful controls for activity and stress in psychiatric patients when urinary MHPG is used as an index of central NE turnover.
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PMID:Effect of moderate exercise on urinary MHPG in depressed patients. 50 41


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