Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01185 (vasopressin)
 23,126 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Recognition that chronologic age is not per se a cause of dementia opens the way for a more active approach to Alzheimer-type dementias as a specific disease syndrome. "Alzheimerism" in many respects is to the cholinergic brain system what Parkinsonism is to the dopamineragic. Whether cell loss or choline acetyltransferase deficiency comes first is still unclear, as is the role of vasopressin. There is a real possibility that research might produce a palliative for ACh-based defects similar to the action of L-dopa in dopaminergic defects.
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PMID:Alzheimer's disease or "Alzheimerism"? 4 21

The research reviewed in the present paper indicates that vasopressin and oxytocin cells in the human HNS constitute an extremely stable population of neurons throughout the human life span. Increases in the activity of these cells, which are probably related to maturation of the system were observed during fetal development and probably extend well beyond term. During senescence an increase in the activity of the vasopressin cells in the human HNS was observed which is probably a compensation for age-related changes in kidney function. These data do not support a role of declining vasopressin secretion in age-related memory decline. Although there is some evidence for an impairment of vasopressin synthesis and release in Alzheimer patients, vasopressin cell numbers in Alzheimer's disease do not fall below values observed in young controls. Furthermore, peripheral administration of vasopressin or vasopressin analogues to AD patients have not yielded consistent results.
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PMID:The human hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system in relation to development, aging and Alzheimer's disease. 148 Jul 51

The concentrations of human neurophysins in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of nine patients with Alzheimer's disease: Preliminary observations. (AD), and one patients with Pick's disease, were determined using specific radioimmunoassays (RIAs). Concentrations of vasopressin and oxytocin were also measured. Values were compared with those from 20 age-matched mentally normal individuals who were being treated for back pain. CSF levels of vasopressin-associated human neurophysin (VP-HNP) and oxytocin-associated human neurophysin (OT-HNP) in patients with AD (22 +/- 4 fmol/ml and 104 +/- 17 fmol/ml) were only 42% and 58% of those in the control subjects (p less than 0.0001, p less than 0.0004). Vasopressin levels for these patients (3.6 +/- 0.4 fmol/ml) were also significantly reduced to 51% of controls (p less than 0.007) and oxytocin levels were marginally (p = 0.092) reduced to 70% of controls. Because neurophysins and neuropeptides are gene-related products of vasopressin-neurons and oxytocin-neurons, the data indicate that these neurons are functionally impaired in patients with AD. Plasma neurophysin values suggest this impairment is confined to neurons with centrally-directed axons. Data from the one patient with Pick's disease demonstrates that reduced CSF levels of neurophysins and hormones is not confined to Alzheimer-type dementia.
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PMID:An evaluation of human neurophysin production in Alzheimer's disease: preliminary observations. 152 43

Sites which bind oxytocin and vasopressin with high affinity were detected in the brain and upper spinal cord of 12 human subjects, using in vitro light microscopic autoradiography. Tissue sections were incubated with tritiated vasopressin, tritiated oxytocin or an iodinated oxytocin antagonist. The ligand specificity of binding was assessed with unlabelled vasopressin or oxytocin in excess, as well as in competition experiments using synthetic structural analogues. The distribution of vasopressin binding sites differed markedly from that of oxytocin binding sites in the forebrain, while there was overlap in the brainstem. Vasopressin binding sites were detected in the dorsal part of the lateral septal nucleus, in midline nuclei and adjacent intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus, in the hilus of the dentate gyrus, the dorsolateral part of the basal amygdaloid nucleus and the brainstem. The distribution of oxytocin binding sites in the brainstem has been recently reported (Loup et al., 1989). Oxytocin binding sites were also observed in the basal nucleus of Meynert, the nucleus of the vertical limb of the diagonal band of Broca, the ventral part of the lateral septal nucleus, the preoptic/anterior hypothalamic area, the posterior hypothalamic area, and variably in the globus pallidus and ventral pallidum. The presence of oxytocin and vasopressin binding sites in limbic and autonomic areas suggests a neurotransmitter or neuromodulator role for these peptides in the human central nervous system. They may also affect cholinergic transmission in the basal forebrain and consequently play a role in Alzheimer's disease.
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PMID:Localization of high-affinity binding sites for oxytocin and vasopressin in the human brain. An autoradiographic study. 165

Neurotransmitters including acetylcholine, dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, GABA and vasopressin were examined in control subjects and patients with Alzheimer-type dementia, involving presenile and senile dementia. Neurotransmitters exhibited various mode of changes with aging. Abnormalities found in senile or presenile dementia were not always parallel to the age-related changes. These results suggest that Alzheimer-type dementia cannot be understood as an accelerated senescence, but other etiological factors might be introduced for the manifestation of the dementia. Moreover, the disturbance in neurotransmitters revealed a difference between presenile Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia, indicating that further studies should be carried out taking the age of onset into consideration.
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PMID:Senile dementia and presenile dementia. 170 90

Previous studies suggest that an alteration of the neuroendocrine system may particularly occur in senile dementia of Alzheimer's type (SDAT). In the present study the reactivity of the hypophyseal-adrenocortical axis (HPA) in the elderly was assessed by hormonal stimulation of the hypophysis. Twelve young men (aged 21-24 yr), 15 mentally healthy elderly (aged 65-90 yr), and 12 patients with SDAT (aged 60-84 yr) received an iv bolus injection containing 50 micrograms CRH and 0.5 IU lysine vasopressin after a baseline period of 2 h. ACTH, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone secretion was monitored over a period of 2 h before and after the injection. The baseline ACTH concentrations were increased in both groups of elderly, the baseline cortisol levels were not different in either group. The peak ACTH and cortisol levels were significantly elevated in the mentally healthy elderly, whereas senile demented patients showed a rise comparable with that in the young subjects. Moreover, in the demented patients the post-stimulus decline in plasma ACTH levels seemed to be delayed. Dehydroepiandrosterone was significantly lowered in subjects of all ages. Our results demonstrate an enhanced reactivity of the HPA in mentally healthy elderly. This is possibly due to a diminished sensitivity of the feedback regulation to glucocorticoids. However, SDAT patients had, compared to healthy elderly subjects, an attenuated response to CRH/lysine vasopressin and a prolonged ACTH secretion, indicating alterations of the HPA in this disease.
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PMID:Different regulation of adrenocorticotropin and cortisol secretion in young, mentally healthy elderly and patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer's type. 199 96

This review summarizes the revolutionary impact of brain peptides on our understanding of the nervous system and then discusses the localization, distribution, synthesis, receptor sites, and possible function of 32 brain peptides. The peptides are discussed in three subgroups: I) the opioid peptides, which include beta-endorphin, the enkephalins, and dynorphin; II) the pituitary releasing hormones, most of which are wide-spread in the brain and include corticotropin-releasing hormone, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, somatostatin, and thyrotropin-releasing hormone; and III) a selection of 12 other peptides potentially important for neurological function, including vasopressin, oxytocin, substance P, cholecystokinin, bombesin, neurotensin, renin, angiotensin, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, neuropeptide Y, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and calcitonin. Within each individual peptide section, the possible physiological roles in anterior pituitary hormone release, blood-flow regulation, feeding behavior, temperature regulation, nociception, memory and learning, and movement are reviewed. Further, where noted, the peptide findings in Huntington's, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and psychiatric diseases are emphasized.
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PMID:Neuropeptides. 187 Jul 24

In individuals above 60 years of age, an age-related decrease in the concentrations of dopamine, noradrenaline, and 5-hydroxytryptamine has been found. This may indicate a neuron loss. As the metabolites are not simultaneously reduced, a compensatory mechanism would seem to exist. In the hypothalamus there are significant positive correlations between the neuropeptides galanin and corticotropin-releasing factor on the one hand, and age over 60 on the other. In brains from patients with dementia of Alzheimer type there are reduced concentrations of cholineacetyl transferase. However, in some brain areas reduced concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine, dopamine, and noradrenaline have also been found. The metabolites homovanillic acid and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid are also reduced. These findings indicate that there is not only a neuron loss in these brains but also a dysfunction of the remaining neurons, reducing the compensatory capacity of the brain. Postmortem investigations of hypothalamus from Alzheimer brains have shown reduced concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine. However, the concentrations of galanin, arginin, vasopressin, and somatostatin were significantly increased. The latter may be the result of a disturbed higher control over the hypothalamus. Hypothalamic dysfunction is of interest with regard to the neuroendocrine disturbances seen in Alzheimer-demented patients. Investigations of patients with vascular dementia have suggested the same type of neurotransmitter disturbances as in Alzheimer's disease.
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PMID:Biochemical substrates in normal aging and Alzheimer's disease. 197 Aug 89

The paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei of the hypothalamic neurosecretory system have been extensively investigated by many workers. The functional aspects of vasopressin secretion (elaborated by the PVN and SON neurons) in relation to the vasculature of the anterior hypothalamus are also well documented. However, the available data concerning vasopressin (VP) functions are largely based on physiological studies. Corroborative morphological correlation with regard to this has received little attention. The present report elucidates the intricate anatomical relationships between the VP-neurons and the adjoining capillaries in the rat anterior hypothalamus. A peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) immunocytochemical study, using a commercial VP antibody, was carried out for this purpose. The observations are interpreted from a functional standpoint. VP-immunostained elements, i.e. the somata and the processes (mainly dendrites), were localized (i) close to the wall, (ii) on the endothelium, and (iii) occasionally, in the lumen of the hypothalamic capillaries. The findings provide immunocytochemical evidence that the vasopressinergic elements are in direct relationship with the hypothalamic vasculature. This raises some interesting possibilities for the former to be involved in: (i) affecting the permeability of the blood-brain barrier for transport of various nutrient substances (important in aging and Alzheimer's disease), (ii) inducing an alteration in the water permeability of the brain vessels on which depends the precise adjustment of brain water content and of brain volume (fundamental to normal functioning of the brain), and (iii) serving as osmoreceptors of the blood flowing through the capillaries and thus providing a feedback mechanism for VP modulation.
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PMID:Vasopressinergic neurons and the associated blood vessels in the rat anterior hypothalamus: an immunohistochemical study. 213 59

We carried out a double-blind study of a vasopressin-related peptide, DGAVP citrate (Org 5667), in 115 patients with mild dementia, probable Alzheimer's type (DAT). Neither clinical rating scales nor psychometric tests revealed any improvement over 84 days with once-daily intranasal treatment with 2 different doses of DGAVP. We conclude that vasopressin-like peptides are not satisfactory therapeutic agents in DAT.
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PMID:DGAVP (Org 5667) in early Alzheimer's disease patients: an international double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial. 219 1


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