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)

Vigabatrin is a selective, irreversible suicide inhibitor of GABA transaminase and thus increases brain and CSF GABA. In 33 adult patients with long standing refractory epilepsy on treatment with one or two standard anti-convulsant drugs, the addition of vigabatrin up to 3g daily for eight weeks was associated with a 48.2% reduction in seizure frequency. Twenty patients who had exhibited a 50% or more reduction in frequency of one or more seizure types entered an eight week double-blind placebo controlled phase. Patients on vigabatrin maintained a 54.7% reduction of seizure frequency, whereas those on placebo showed an 18.6% increase in seizure frequency, a highly significant difference between the two groups. In the open phase, seven patients were withdrawn due to unacceptable and reversible adverse events. The commonest side effects were drowsiness, depression and mood instability, and headaches. Vigabatrin is a potentially valuable new treatment for chronic epilepsy, especially partial seizures with or without secondary generalisation.
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PMID:Vigabatrin: rational treatment for chronic epilepsy. 229 96

Elevations of brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) induced by inhibitors of GABA transaminase (GABA-T) are known to induce a number of functional effects including depression of food intake. The aim of the present study was to determine the brain GABA elevation threshold for changes in feeding and several other behaviours, in an effort to clarify whether feeding changes might be secondary to other functional deficits. To this end, various doses of the GABA-T inhibitors ethanolamine-o-sulfate (EOS) and gamma-vinyl GABA (GVG) were injected intracisternally and effects on whole brain GABA, food and water intake, open field activity, catalepsy indices, pain sensitivity, and core temperature were assessed 24 h later. Progressive increases in brain GABA levels were found to differentially affect the responses studied. At the low end of the continuum, significant decreases in feeding behaviour were associated with relatively modest increases in brain GABA (40-60%). At higher levels of GABA elevation (greater than 100%), changes in motoric functions and rectal temperature became apparent. At still higher levels (greater than 200% increases in brain GABA), significant antinociceptive effects were detected. These results support the notion that feeding decreases induced by low doses of GABA-T inhibitors may reflect a fairly specific effect on appetite mechanisms, but also indicate that with increasingly higher doses several other deficits are likely to contribute to the overall decrease in food intake.
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PMID:Graded increases in brain GABA: differential effects on feeding and other behaviours in rats. 284 56

Implantation of cobalt-agar rods into the visual cortex of 16 adult rats induced in some of the animals epileptiform bioelectrical activity and provoked in all of them histological and histochemical changes in the region of the implantation (primary focus) as well as in some ipsilateral projection sites of the visual cortex (secondary foci). The changes within the secondary foci are demonstrated in the Corpus geniculatum laterale, pars dorsale (dLGN), by means of 18 histochemical and 5 histological methods. Together with the appearance of hyperactive and degenerating neurones combined with neuronophagy and diminution of the number of synapses a marked gliosis developed, especially an increase of microglia. The destruction of the tissue induced a depression of energy and transmitter metabolism and intensified lytic processes. This is confirmed by the decreased activities of LDH, SDH, GPDH, G6PDH, NAD(P)H-TR, GABA-T and GDH and the increased activity of acid phosphatase in the neuropil of the secondary foci. Single hyperactive nerve and glial cells were accented by high activities of those enzymes which had a reduced activity in the neuropil. Since in our experiments agar-rods without cobalt never induced histological or histochemical changes in subcortical grisea of the visual system, the secondary foci seem to result from the direct influence of the cobalt, migrating in the corticothalamic projection pathway and identifiable in the dLGN by the TIMM technique.
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PMID:[Morphologic and histochemical changes in the secondary focus following cobalt-induced epileptogenic bioelectrical activity of the visual cortex in the adult rat]. 393 55

Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) activity was measured in various rat brain regions after administering large doses of methamphetamine (METH). After four sequential doses of METH (15 mg/kg), given every 6 hr, TPH activity was decreased (to approximately 10% of control) in both the neostriatum and hippocampus. The depression of enzyme activity persisted for at least 30 days. When compared with the depression of neostriatal tyrosine hydroxylase activity, the depression of neostriatal and hippocampal TPH activity occurred sooner and was more pronounced. The depression of TPH activity was dependent on the number of doses and the amount of drug administered. Five days after one to two doses of METH, a transient recovery was observed but when four doses were given, the enzyme was depressed. No decrease in TPH activity was observed in brain areas containing serotonergic cell bodies. Agents which prevent the METH-induced decrease of neostriatal tyrosine hydroxylase activity, i.e., haloperidol, alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine and gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase inhibitors also prevented the decrease in TPH activity caused by METH. In addition, fluoxetine, an inhibitor of 5-hydroxytryptamine re-uptake, prevented the METH-induced decrease in neostriatal and hippocampal TPH activity but did not alter the decrease in nenostriatal tyrosine hydroxylase activity.
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PMID:Long-term effects of multiple doses of methamphetamine on tryptophan hydroxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase activity in rat brain. 610 22

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) levels in the rat neostriatum are decreased by chronic treatment with methamphetamine. GABAergic neurons could potentially interact with the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in either the neostriatum or the substantia nigra; therefore, the GABA transaminase inhibitors, amino-oxyacetic acid, gamma-acetylenic GABA and ethanolamine-O-sulfate, were evaluated for possible influences on the methamphetamine-induced decrease in TH. TH was measured by the procedure of Nagatsu et al. (1964). Methamphetamine (10 mg/kg, s.c.) was given every 6 h for 24 h. Thirty-six h after initiation of the methamphetamine treatment, neostriatal TH activity was approximately 70% of control. Concurrent administration of amino-oxyacetic acid (20 mg/kg, i.p.) or gamma-acetylenic GABA (15 mg/kg, i.p.) with methamphetamine completely blocked the TH depression. Dose-response curves were constructed for amino-oxyacetic acid and gamma-acetylenic GABA. A single intraventricular injection of ethanolamine-O-sulfate (400 micrograms/rat), 2-6 h before initiating the methamphetamine regimen, also completely blocked the TH depression. These data suggest that the striatonigral or other GABAergic systems are involved in the regulation of the functional state of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons, and that enhanced GABAergic function will antagonize the effects of high doses of methamphetamine.
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PMID:Blockade of methamphetamine-induced depression of tyrosine hydroxylase by GABA transaminase inhibitors. 610 24

Neuropharmacological mechanisms in central regulation of respiration in anesthetized rats were studied in a whole body plethysmographic model. Neurotransmitter agonists and antagonists were administered intracerebroventricularly or locally into the brain and the respiratory pattern was analysed. The four anesthetics: enflurance (E), halothane (H), pentobarbital sodium (P) and urethane (U) were found to have different effects on central respiratory regulation. Respiratory frequency was higher after H and U compared to after E and P. Animals anesthetized with H exhibited a lower inspiratory drive and a slightly depressed sensitivity to CO2. The responses to the neuropeptides substance P and TRH as well as the amino acid neurotransmitter GABA were partly modified after the different forms of anesthesia. Apomorphine (i.c.v) induced a biphasic, haloperidol reversible, respiratory response in H- and U- (but not in E- and P-) anesthetized rats. The initial bradypnoic response might be due to a decreased sensitivity to afferent vagal signals, while the following tachypnoic phase might be elicited by dopaminergic mechanisms at posterior diencephalic and upper midbrain levels (hypoxic, hypercapnic tachypnea). The tachypnoic response was inhibited by a graded exposure to CO2. The effects of different neurotransmitters were further analysed in H-anesthetized animals. GABA and the GABA agonist muscimol exerted a depressant effect on ventilation in contrast to the GABA-like drugs GHBA an baclofen. Exogenous GABA depressed all respiratory parameters studied exept for inspiratory time and was found to affect mainly respiratory timing mechanisms. An increase in endogenous GABA levels induced by the GABA transaminase inhibitor AOAA blunted the respiratory response to CO2 and induced a ventilatory depression similar to that seen after exogenous GABA. A significance correlation between brain stem GABA levels and respiratory duty cycle was found. The tripeptide TRH induced a marked tachypnea due to the extrahypothalamic actions of the peptide. A delay in the response was seen after local injection into the nucleus tractus solitarius and the tachypnea was abolished by CO2 exposure. The ventilatory effects might be elicited by mechanisms similar to those involved in the tachypnoic response to apomorphine. The tachypnea was potentiated by GABA (possibly due to that both agents act on inspiratory off-switch lowering mechanism) and by methylatropine or naloxone (possibly due to secondary pertubation by cholinergic or enkephalinergic mechanisms). A stimulation of ventilation (increase in tidal volume) was seen after substance P (SP) due to an increase in inspiratory drive and o
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PMID:Neuropharmacological aspects of central respiratory regulation. An experimental study in the rat. 620 94

Intracerebroventricular administration of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) or intraperitoneal injection of the GABA transaminase A inhibitor aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA) depressed ventilation in halothane-anesthetized rats. The depression was due to changes in both respiratory frequency (f) and tidal volume (VT) after GABA, whereas AOAA decreased only f. Intracerebroventricular GABA decreased inspiratory drive (VT/TI; intrapulmonary pressure at 100 ms) but did not change the bulbopontine setting of inspiratory duration (TI). Moreover, respiratory duty cycle (TI/TT) was decreased, and the ventilatory response to CO2 exposure was blunted. The ventilatory depression induced by GABA was reversed by the GABA antagonist bicuculline. The GABA content measured 45 min after AOAA administration was significantly increased in the whole brain, the hemispheres, striatum, and lower spinal cord regions. Whole-brain GABA content was significantly correlated to the changes in f, minute ventilation, TI, expiratory duration (TE), and total cycle duration. Furthermore, there was a significant negative correlation between brain stem GABA content and TI/TT but not VT/TI. In summary, GABA seems to interact with the central regulation of respiration at different levels in the brain. The main effect of increased endogenous concentrations of GABA is, however, a decrease in respiratory frequency due to a prolongation in TE.
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PMID:An analysis of the mechanism by which gamma-aminobutyric acid depresses ventilation in the rat. 672 63

Both cis- and trans-3-aminocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid have been synthesized as conformationally restricted analogs of GABA. The cis isomer displayed weak to moderate GABA-like activity with respect to (1) inhibition of GABA uptake in rat brain minislices, (2) inhibition of sodium-independent binding of GABA to rat brain membranes, (3) activity as a substrate for GABA aminotransferase. and (4) depression of the firing rate of cat spinal neurons in vivo. The trans isomer was less effective on all four assays. The results has been interpreted in terms of the conformational "pinning back" of the polar groups by the cyclobutane ring in the trans GABA analog so that unfavorable steric interactions would occur between one of the methylene groups and a region of steric hindrance at the active sites for particular GABA processes.
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PMID:Cyclobutane analogs of GABA. 738 41

The MAO inhibitor phenelzine (2-phenylethylhydrazine; PLZ) is used widely in psychiatry for the treatment of depression and panic disorder. Its N-acetyl metabolite, N2-acetylphenelzine (N2AcPLZ) is a reasonably potent nonselective inhibitor of monoamine oxidase (MAO) that causes elevation in brain levels of the biogenic amines. In the studies reported here, PLZ (0.05 mmol/kg/day), N2AcPLZ (0.10 mmol/kg/day) or vehicle were administered to male rats for 28 days s.c. with Alzet minipumps, and their effects on GABAergic function were examined. Whole brain concentrations of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were significantly elevated in the PLZ but not in the N2AcPLZ-treated group. PLZ was found to inhibit the anabolic enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) and, to a greater extent, the catabolic enzyme GABA transaminase (GABA-T). The results of these investigations suggest that the free hydrazine moiety in PLZ is crucial to producing the elevated levels of GABA, probably through inhibition of GABA-T. Despite the considerable increase in whole brain GABA levels in the PLZ-treated rats, there were no significant differences in GABAA or benzodiazepine receptor binding parameters (KD or Bmax) between the groups as measured using 3H-muscimol and 3H-flunitrazepam in radioligand binding assays.
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PMID:Chronic administration of the antidepressant phenelzine and its N-acetyl analogue: effects on GABAergic function. 793 Dec 16

Vigabatrin (VGB) is a recently-released antiepileptic drug which works by a clearly-defined mechanism of action: inhibition of GABA transaminase leading to an elevation of brain GABA concentration. It has been proven effective, mainly as an add-on agent, in complex partial and secondarily generalized seizures in both adults and children as well as in infantile spasms in both short and long-term controlled studies. World-wide experience now includes over 150,000 patients exposed to the drug. VGB has a favorable pharmacokinetic profile since it has little protein-binding, is mainly excreted unchanged by the kidney and has a long effective half-life allowing once or twice daily dosing. It is generally well-tolerated with very few cognitive effects but may cause significant behavioral side effects such as agitation, irritability, depression or psychosis in approximately 2-4% of cases. Mild weight gain and possible exacerbation of absence and myoclonic seizures are other reported adverse effects. The role of VGB in other childhood epileptic syndromes apart from West syndrome is still being defined.
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PMID:Vigabatrin. 895 Dec 15


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