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)

Plasma cortisol levels of 28 hospitalized patients meeting Research Diagnostic Criteria for major or nonmajor (minor or intermittent) depression were significantly higher than those of eight normal subjects. In contrast, plasma beta-endorphin immunoreactivity was significantly lower in patients with nonmajor depression than in those with major depression or in normal subjects. A low ratio of plasma beta-endorphin to cortisol immunoreactivity was found to characterize patients in both groups. Through the use of only this ratio, a post-hoc analysis identified 25 depressed patients and seven controls. These findings have implications for psychiatric diagnosis and the involvement of the endogenous opioid system in the pathogenesis of depression.
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PMID:Plasma cortisol and beta-endorphin immunoreactivity in nonmajor and major depression. 632 98

In a previous study, increased weight of the adrenal glands was found in a small group of persons who committed violent suicides. This finding was confirmed in our study, which comprised a group of 42 suicide cases and 37 control cases. Further analysis with special consideration toward a "relative adrenal weight" (weight/body surface) revealed that a relative combined adrenal weight >6 g/m2 may be a morphologic sign of a depressive disorder prior to death if no other disease with a known effect on the adrenals is present. These results are consistent with clinical computed tomographic findings of enlarged adrenals in depressed patients. In all suicide cases the police records were reviewed and a postmortem psychiatric diagnosis conducted to investigate whether a correlation between adrenal weight and the "severity" of depression or type of psychiatric disorder exists. In thirteen cases, psychiatric treatment prior to death was known, and a postmortem severity score of depressive disease was formed. No influence of this score or the postmortem diagnosis on the adrenal weight, however, could be detected. Also, the increase in weight of adrenal glands could not be explained by a suspected or proven preceding drug therapy or use. The effect on the pituitary-adrenal-axis by depressive disorders and changes in serotonin metabolism have been investigated repeatedly; mainly reported are increased levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in the depressive interval, which may lead to a growth of the adrenal glands.
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PMID:Weight of adrenal glands may be increased in persons who commit suicide. 953 97

Studies on the interaction between the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal system have shed light on the neurobiological response to stress via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and the hypothalamic-autonomic nervous system axes. These findings support a role of psychological and environmental factors in the course of gastrointestinal disorders and their influence on the neuroendocrine regulation of the immune system. Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract, whose etiology involves genetic, psychological, immune and inflammatory factors. A higher prevalence of psychiatric diagnosis has been observed in CD patients. Both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies have explored the relationship between psychological stress and severity and/or clinical course of CD, with different, even conflicting, results. In several chronic diseases and stress-related psychological disorders, an alteration has been observed of the HPA response that through glucocorticoids modulate the immune/inflammatory reaction. In animal models of colitis, psychological or environmental stress may increase gastrointestinal permeability, allowing abnormal antigen presentation to the immune system and leading to the exacerbation and perpetuation of intestinal inflammation. The increased intestinal permeability under stress is mediated by corticotropin-releasing hormone stimulation through nicotinic, adrenergic and cholinergic receptors, suggesting a complex interplay between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. This review will examine and discuss the relationship between psychological stress and CD, investigating the role played by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and the hypothalamic-autonomic nervous system axes in stress-related psychological disorders, and the possible influence of chronic stress on the intestinal inflammation, in particular in CD.
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PMID:Role of the brain-gut axis in the pathophysiology of Crohn's disease. 1843 Oct 66