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)

Immunoreactive beta-endorphin was measured in the ventricular fluid of six patients with chronic pain. Stimulation of the periaqueductal gray matter in three patients with pain of peripheral origin resulted in significant increases (50 to 300 percent) in the concentration of ventricular immunoreactive beta-endorphin. In three other patients suffering deafferentation dysesthesia, stimulation of the posterior limb of the internal capsule did not alter the concentration of this peptide. These results provide evidence of the release of human immunoreactive beta-endorphin in vivo and suggest that naloxone-reversible pain relief achieved by stimulation of the periaqueductal gray matter may be in part mediated by the activation of beta-endorphin-rich diencephalic areas.
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PMID:Stimulation of human periaqueductal gray for pain relief increases immunoreactive beta-endorphin in ventricular fluid. 8 74

This paper reviews the author's nine years of experience in analgesic brain stimulation. During this time, of 22 patients with pain of peripheral origin who were treated with periaqueductal gray (PAG), stimulation 16 achieved successful control of pain. Of 40 patients who presented with deafferentation pain, 16 were able to control their dysesthesia by brain stimulation of the subcortical somatosensory region alone; follow-up was over a long period. The mechanism of deafferentation pain is poorly understood and the effectiveness of subcortical somatosensory electrical stimulation to relieve such pain is based on empirical observation. The analgesia produced by PAG stimulation appears to be mediated by the release of beta-endorphin from the anterior hypothalamus. The released beta-endorphin binds to the opiate receptors in the PAG and activates the descending pain-inhibitory pathway. However, the repetitive stimulation of this serotonergic system produces tolerance to its analgesic effect, due to a decreased rate of serotonin turnover. Loading of the serotonin precursor by dietary supplementation of the essential amino acid L-tryptophan reverses this tolerance.
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PMID:The current status of analgesic brain stimulation. 616 68

Spinal epidural lipomatosis (SEL) is a rare condition affecting the thoracic and lumbar spine, characterized by a hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the rich vascularized fat tissue inside the spinal canal. The etiology of SEL is unknown. A high number of cases are associated with obesity, corticosteroid intake and a dysbalance in adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-cortisone metabolism. It can be an incidental radiographic finding or present with symptoms, such as low back pain, weakness of the lower limbs, dysesthesia, radiculopathy, claudication or even cauda equina syndrome. The interdisciplinary treatment consists of weight reduction, weaning from corticosteroids and in persisting cases or neurologic alterations in surgical decompression of the spinal canal. The following article presents a current review and a case report of this rare entity.
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PMID:[Spinal epidural lipomatosis]. 2277 44