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)

Physical and psychological stress cause different patterns of changes in the fluorescence intensity of nigral and tuberoinfundibular DA neurons which point to changes in neuronal activity. In order to investigate possible interactions between alpha-MSH (alpha-melanotropin) and DA systems in stress, systemic and intraventricular injections of antiserum against alpha-MSH were made. The functional state of DA neurons was assessed by histochemical microfluorimetry and hormone levels were measured by radioimmunossay. Antiserum against alpha-MSH was found to affect the functional state of DA neurons, but only thorugh the intravenous route. Under physical stress i.v. injection of antiserum against alpha-MSH was accompanied by elevated levels of activity of the DA neurons of the substantia nigra. An intraventricular injection of the same antiserum was ineffective. In psychological stress, an effect was again seen only after intravenous injection of antiserum against alpha-MSH. In this situation, the activity in DA cell groups of the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area and tubero-infundibular system was increased after antiserum injection. Possible influences from manipulations were checked; certain effects which depended upon experimental situation were noted. Our data suggest a modulatory influence of circulating alpha-MSH on the functional state of central DA systems.
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PMID:Neuroendocrine regulation and central dopamine (DA) systems in physical and psychological stress. 719 Oct 5

It was shown previously that alpha-MSH levels in peripheral blood of rats subjected to passive avoidance training did not correlate with the behavioral performance of the animals. We have investigated whether alpha-MSH levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) change during passive avoidance behavior. It appeared that throughout adaptation, acquisition and retention of this avoidance behavior, alpha-MSH levels in the CSF did not change significantly. In an additional experiment in which the effects of an electric footshock versus a psychological stimulus were tested, alpha-MSH levels in CSF also remained unchanged. Since CSF alpha-MSH levels appear to be relatively stable under these behavioral conditions, it seems unlikely that the CSF functions as a direct and specific route for the afferent transport of the behaviorally active neuropeptide alpha-MSH to its sites of action in the brain. However, the psychological stimulus, which consisted of the fear of receiving an unavoidable electric footshock, did induce a significant enhancement of alpha-MSH levels in peripheral blood, suggesting that psychological stress may be involved in the release of alpha-MSH into the peripheral circulation. These results support the idea of a differentiated system of secretion of alpha-MSH into CSF and peripheral blood.
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PMID:alpha-msh levels in cerebrospinal fluid and blood of rats during behavioral manipulations. 720 47

The role of neuropeptides in the psychoneuroendocrinological stress response is largely unknown. In this study the effect of acute psychological stress on beta-endorphin and substance-P plasma concentrations was investigated and further the effect of different anxiety levels or control attributions on beta-endorphin or substance-P levels were determined. Blood samples were obtained from 47 inexperienced tandem-parachutists 2 h before, immediately after, and 1 h after a parachute jump and plasma concentrations of beta-endorphin and substance-P were analysed. Anxiety levels and control attributions were assessed by psychometric scales. Whereas substance-P concentrations seemed to be unaffected by the jump stress, there was a transient but significant increase in beta-endorphin levels immediately after jumping. However, subjects higher in state-anxiety at the point of jumping (exit) displayed higher substance-P values at all three time points compared to the "low-anxiety" jumpers. In addition, stress-induced beta-endorphin secretion was dependent on subjective control attributions.
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PMID:Beta-endorphin, but not substance-P, is increased by acute stress in humans. 753 Aug 53

Dysmenorrhoea is a recurrent painful disease which causes physical and psychological stress. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether there was a measurable derangement of immune cells and immune responses in women with severe primary dysmenorrhoea. On day 26 of one cycle and on days 1 and 3 of the following cycle we measured polyclonal, mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation and beta-endorphin concentration in peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from 16 infertile women with normal pelvis, of whom eight had and eight did not have the disorder. In women with dysmenorrhoea, polyclonal mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation was lower than in controls on all 3 days considered, but the difference was statistically significant only on day 26 (43,605 +/- 9876 micrograms/ml versus 67,305 +/- 15,249 micrograms/ml; P < 0.01). Monocyte beta-endorphin concentrations in the patients with dysmenorrhoea were significantly elevated on day 3 compared to controls (67.8 +/- 24.3 pg/10(6) cells versus 29.7 +/- 6.9 pg/10(6) cells; P < 0.05). Our results demonstrate that immune responses are modified in patients with primary dysmenorrhoea. These effects are independent of circulating hormone concentrations and are consistent with the role of dysmenorrhoea as a stressful event.
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PMID:Mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation and peripheral blood mononuclear cell beta-endorphin concentrations in primary dysmenorrhoea. 765 Jan 27

Among ecological disasters the aftermath of the accident at the Chernobyl NPP present an undoubted chronic anthropogenic stress situation. Psychological stress is manifested by somatic, predominantly vasovegetative disorders, as well as by pre-nosological and clinical forms of mental disorders. Phasing and reconstructive principle forms a basis for the organizational and structural activity of specialized psychoneurological institutions dealing with rehabilitation and readaptation of the participants in the elimination of the ChNPP accident aftereffects.
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PMID:[The rehabilitation of participants in the cleanup of the sequelae of the accident at the Chernobyl Atomic Electric Power Station with borderline mental disorders]. 783 21

Hormone responses to injection of corticotropin-releasing hormone following bicycle ergometry and psychological stress were studied in ten habitual smokers and ten nonsmokers. Compared to injection of saline, significant increases were found in adrenocorticotropin, prolactin, growth hormone, total serum cortisol, and salivary cortisol under all three stimulations except for salivary cortisol under ergometry. Furthermore, the smokers showed significant elevations of all five hormones investigated following the smoking of two cigarettes of the subject's preferred brand. Comparisons of hormone responses between smokers and nonsmokers revealed a general trend towards stronger responses in nonsmokers. However, due to the small number of subjects investigated and considerable variation in the individual hormone responses these differences reached statistical significance only for growth hormone responses following ergometry and salivary cortisol responses after psychological stress. In addition, the circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol was measured on two occasions between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the subject's natural environment. The typical circadian pattern of decreasing cortisol levels was observed, with no significant differences between smokers and nonsmokers. We conclude that chronic nicotine consumption may lead to lower responses of multiple hormones not only to nicotine but to a variety of stimuli, and that these alterations do not necessarily affect unstimulated circadian profiles of free cortisol.
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PMID:Pituitary and adrenal hormone responses to pharmacological, physical, and psychological stimulation in habitual smokers and nonsmokers. 786 87

A number of experimental studies clearly suggest that benzodiazepines attenuate the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) secretion possibly through inhibitory GABAergic neurons. There is some evidence that benzodiazepines act to inhibit stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. A comparison of the effects of a benzodiazepine on the stress- and CRH-induced activation in man has not been undertaken so far. We thus investigated the effects of the triazolobenzodiazepine alprazolam on both the stress- and CRH-induced changes in ACTH, cortisol, and prolactin secretion in ten healthy volunteers. In addition, hemodynamic parameters were studied. The subjects received either alprazolam (0.5 mg orally) or placebo 90 min prior to administration of CRH (100 ug i.v.) and to the performance of a mental stress technique. Blood samples, blood pressure and heart rate were taken every 15 min. The administration of alprazolam led to a highly significant attenuation of the ACTH increase following the stress interview. While ACTH increased from 12.4 to 26.7 pg/ml 15 min after the stress procedure in the placebo condition, there was almost no increase following alprazolam intake. An identical effect was found for cortisol secretion. Basal levels of prolactin were slightly enhanced in the alprazolam situation, while the stress-induced increase was not attenuated. Basal and stimulated systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels and heart rate were also significantly attenuated by alprazolam intake. Following administration of CRH, the ACTH augmentation was only slightly affected following alprazolam, while there were no changes in cortisol and prolactin secretion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:The stress-, but not corticotropin-releasing hormone-induced activation of the pituitary-adrenal axis in man is blocked by alprazolam. 808 75

A study on 12 novice bungee jumpers was performed to investigate the influence of acute psychological stress on levels of cortisol in saliva, beta-endorphin immunoreactivity as well as the number of leukocytes in peripheral blood. In addition, heart rate and blood pressure as well as ratings on emotional states were recorded. Furthermore, correlations between ratings on mood and biochemical stress markers were computed. As expected, subjective ratings on anxiety were increased prior to the jump and were markedly reduced after the jump. Salivary cortisol was also increased after the jump and decreased to baseline within the next hour. In contrast, ratings on euphoria increased markedly after performing the jump and remained highly elevated for the next 30 min. An increase of more than 200% in beta-endorphin immunoreactivity after the jump was observed. In contrast to levels of cortisol, the concentration of beta-endorphin recorded immediately after the jump was significantly correlated with ratings on euphoria obtained at subsequent measurements indicating a relationship between beta-endorphins and euphoria. Additional increase of the number of blood leukocytes and of heart rate and blood pressure indicate that various systems of the organism are markedly affected by the exceptional eustress of bungee jumping.
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PMID:Biopsychological changes after bungee jumping: beta-endorphin immunoreactivity as a mediator of euphoria? 812 21

In vivo microdialysis was used to estimate extracellular concentrations of methionine-enkephalin in 19 brain sites for 5 h on each of three consecutive days (trials) in six conscious ewes. Following control procedures on d 1, ewes were completely isolated from other sheep for 60 min on d 2 (psychological stress). Physical stress was imposed on d 3 and consisted of continuous pinching of the skin for 60 min during the middle of the 5-h experimental period. Imposition of both physical and psychological stress rapidly increased serum concentrations of cortisol, and the induced increase persisted for at least 30 min after termination of the stress. Psychological stress of isolation initially increased cortisol to a greater extent than the physical stress of skin pinch, but this difference disappeared after 30 min of stress exposure. Psychological stress also transiently increased serum concentrations of beta-endorphin/beta-lipotropin, whereas physical stress did not. Average concentrations of methionine-enkephalin in dialysate ranged between 1.52 and 1.85 ng/mL when the intracerebral probes were placed into the caudate nucleus, the preoptic area of the hypothalamus, or the thalamus. The concentration of methionine-enkephalin was consistently less than 1.0 ng/mL when probes were placed into major fiber tracts of the brain (corpus callosum, internal capsule). Potassium-induced depolarization around the probe tip located in the caudate nucleus increased dialysate concentrations of methionine-enkephalin by 2.7-fold. Imposition of physical or psychological stress did not consistently increase or decrease dialysate concentrations of methionine-enkephalin in any of the brain sites studied.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Intracerebral methionine-enkephalin, serum cortisol, and serum beta-endorphin during acute exposure of sheep to physical or isolation stress. 818 87

Twenty-five female cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were exposed to psychological stress (threat of capture) after blockade of endogenous opioids with naloxone and after saline control injections. Heart rates were monitored continuously and blood samples were obtained for determination of plasma levels of cortisol and beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity. Results indicate that the stress manipulation resulted in increased heart rates as well as plasma cortisol levels in monkeys pretreated with saline. Blockade of opioid receptors with naloxone potentiated the stress-induced rise in plasma cortisol and stimulated release of beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity. The drug effect on heart rate reactivity was significantly correlated with the drug effects on both cortisol and beta-endorphin. When saline-treated monkeys were divided into high and low heart rate reactivity groups, the effects of naloxone on heart rate, cortisol, and beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity responsiveness were significantly greater in low heart rate reactors. These data suggest that monkeys with low heart rate responses to stress have an effective opioidergic inhibition of circulatory and pituitary-adrenocortical reactivity. Monkeys showing excessive heart rate reactivity during psychological stress have a less active opioidergic inhibitory mechanism. The potential pathophysiological consequences of impaired opioidergic inhibition are discussed in light of the relationship between exaggerated stress reactivity and atherosclerotic lesion formation.
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PMID:Opioidergic inhibition of circulatory and endocrine stress responses in cynomolgus monkeys: a preliminary study. 838 49


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