Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01189 (beta-endorphin)
 21,003 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Peptides derived from pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) influence neurodevelopmental processes. Earlier studies indicated that MSH/ACTH compounds improved behavioral efficiency in retarded individuals. Recent studies have shown that opiate blockers reduce treatment-resistant self-injurious behavior (SIB), an autistic-like, developmental disorder. Although the exact mechanisms are unknown, prenatal POMC disregulation, addiction to endogenous opiates and elevated pain threshold have been proposed to account for this behavior. In study one, four SIB patients were given 0, 25, 50 or 100 mg of naltrexone on separate weeks in a double blind, Latin square design. A specific dose dependent reduction in SIB was observed in three patients. In study two, plasma b-endorphin was measured in 40 patients with SIB, a related behavior, stereotypy (ST) or controls. SIB and ST patients had higher levels of endorphin than controls. These data added new support for the role of b-endorphin in a treatment-resistant patient group.
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PMID:Beta-endorphin disregulation in autistic and self-injurious behavior: a neurodevelopmental hypothesis. 246 89

While the origins and developmental course of self-injurious behavior (SIB) remain relatively unknown, recent studies suggest a biological imbalance may potentiate or provoke the contagious recurrence of SIB patterns in individuals with severe developmental disabilities (DD). Evidence from several laboratories indicates that functioning, relations, and processing of a stress-related molecule, proopiomelanocortin (POMC) may be perturbed among certain subgroups of individuals exhibiting SIB. The current investigation employed a unique time-pattern analysis program (THEME) to examine whether recurrent temporal patterns (T-patterns) of SIB were related to morning levels of two POMC-derived hormones: beta-endorphin (betaE) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). THEME was used to quantify highly significant (non-random) T-patterns that included SIB within a dataset of in situ observational recordings spanning 8 days ( approximately 40 h) in 25 subjects with DD. Pearson's product-moment analyses revealed highly significant correlations between the percentage of T-patterns containing SIB and basal levels of both betaE and ACTH, which were not found with any other "control" T-patterns. These findings support the hypothesis that the recurrent temporal patterning of SIB represents a unique behavioral phenotype directly related to perturbed levels of POMC-derived stress hormones in certain individuals with severe DD.
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PMID:Temporal patterns of self-injurious behavior correlate with stress hormone levels in the developmentally disabled. 1791 41

Prematurity continues to be the leading cause of neonatal death and developmental disability, highlighting the importance of identifying potential predictors of prematurity as well as interventions that can be linked to the predictors. This review covers recent research on potential psychological, physiological, and biochemical predictors. Among the psychological stressors are depression, anxiety, difficult relationships, and lack of social support. Biochemical predictors include corticotropin-releasing hormone, cortisol, and fetal fibronectin. A program of research that links an intervention for prematurity with a predictor for prematurity, that is, massage therapy to reduce cortisol and, in turn, reduce prematurity, is then presented.
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PMID:Prematurity and potential predictors. 1820 83