Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0030567 (Parkinson's disease)
 63,064 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Animal data indicate that serotonin (5-HT) is a major neurotransmitter involved in the control of numerous central nervous system functions including mood, aggression, pain, anxiety, sleep, memory, eating behavior, addictive behavior, temperature control, endocrine regulation, and motor behavior. Moreover, there is evidence that abnormalities of 5-HT functions are related to the pathophysiology of diverse neurological conditions including Parkinson's disease, tardive dyskinesia, akathisia, dystonia, Huntington's disease, familial tremor, restless legs syndrome, myoclonus, Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome, multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders, and dementia. The psychiatric disorders of schizophrenia, mania, depression, aggressive and self-injurious behavior, obsessive compulsive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, substance abuse, hypersexuality, anxiety disorders, bulimia, childhood hyperactivity, and behavioral disorders in geriatric patients have been linked to impaired central 5-HT functions. Tryptophan, the natural amino acid precursor in 5-HT biosynthesis, increases 5-HT synthesis in the brain and, therefore, may stimulate 5-HT release and function. Since it is a natural constituent of the diet, tryptophan should have low toxicity and produce few side effects. Based on these advantages, dietary tryptophan supplementation has been used in the management of neuropsychiatric disorders with variable success. This review summarizes current clinical use of tryptophan supplementation in neuropsychiatric disorders.
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PMID:L-tryptophan in neuropsychiatric disorders: a review. 130 30

The psychiatric intervention, light therapy, grew from an intensive 25-year research focus on seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Dosing and timing strategies have been honed to optimize the antidepressant effect, and efficacy relative to placebo has provided the evidence base for widespread implementation. A persistent question has been whether the model system for SAD has wider utility for psychiatric disturbance, even beyond depression. The circadian phase-shifting capacity of timed light exposure is universal, and chronobiological factors are at play across the disease spectrum. Recent promising initiatives extend to light treatment for nonseasonal major depressive disorder and bipolar depression, including drug- and electroconvulsive therapy-resistant cases. With light therapy, patients with antepartum depression may find an alternative to medication during pregnancy. Cognitive improvement under light therapy has been noted in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Motor function in Parkinson's disease has improved in parallel with the antidepressant effect of light therapy. The rest-activity disturbance of elderly dementia has been partially allayed under light therapy. In a new initiative, three major chronotherapeutic inventions-light therapy, sleep deprivation (wake therapy) and sleep time displacement (sleep phase advance therapy) are being combined to snap hospitalized patients out of deep depression and maintain long-term improvement.
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PMID:Evolving applications of light therapy. 1802 41

This is a mini-review of vitamin D(3), its active metabolites and their functioning in the central nervous system (CNS), especially in relation to nervous system pathologies and aging. The vitamin D(3) endocrine system consists of 3 active calcipherol hormones: calcidiol (25OHD(3)), 1alpha-calcitriol (1alpha,25(OH)2D(3)) and 24-calcitriol (24,25(OH)2D(3)). The impact of the calcipherol hormone system on aging, health and disease is discussed. Low serum calcidiol concentrations are associated with an increased risk of several chronic diseases including osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, hypertension, atherosclerosis and muscle weakness all of which can be considered aging-related diseases. The relationship of many of these diseases and aging-related changes in physiology show a U-shaped response curve to serum calcidiol concentrations. Clinical data suggest that vitamin D(3) insufficiency is associated with an increased risk of several CNS diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, seasonal affective disorder and schizophrenia. In line with this, recent animal and human studies suggest that vitamin D insufficiency is associated with abnormal development and functioning of the CNS. Overall, imbalances in the calcipherol system appear to cause abnormal function, including premature aging, of the CNS.
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PMID:Vitamin D, nervous system and aging. 1966 Aug 71

Quantitative and objective evaluation of disease severity and/or drug effect is necessary in clinical practice. Wearable accelerometers such as an actigraph enable long-term recording of a patient's movement during activities and they can be used for quantitative assessment of symptoms due to various diseases. We reviewed some applications of actigraphy with analytical methods that are sufficiently sensitive and reliable to determine the severity of diseases and disorders such as motor and nonmotor disorders like Parkinson's disease, sleep disorders, depression, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) for vascular dementia (VD), seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and stroke, as well as the effects of drugs used to treat them. We believe it is possible to develop analytical methods to assess more neurological or psychopathic disorders using actigraphy records.
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PMID:Quantitative evaluation of the use of actigraphy for neurological and psychiatric disorders. 2521 9

Neurotransmitter switching is a form of brain plasticity in which an environmental stimulus causes neurons to replace one neurotransmitter with another, often resulting in changes in behavior. This raises the possibility of applying a specific environmental stimulus to induce a switch that can enhance a desirable behavior or ameliorate symptoms of a specific pathology. For example, a stimulus inducing an increase in the number of neurons expressing dopamine could treat Parkinson's disease, or one affecting the number expressing serotonin could alleviate depression. This may already be producing successful treatment outcomes without our knowing that transmitter switching is involved, with improvement of motor function through physical activity and cure of seasonal depression with phototherapy. This review presents prospects for future investigation of neurotransmitter switching, considering opportunities and challenges for future research and describing how the investigation of transmitter switching is likely to evolve with new tools, thus reshaping our understanding of both normal brain function and mental illness.
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PMID:Decoding Neurotransmitter Switching: The Road Forward. 3243 58