European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
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Eur Neuropsychopharmacol · Nov 2010
Comparative StudyInvolvement of NMDA receptors and L-arginine-nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway in the antidepressant-like effects of escitalopram in the forced swimming test.
Escitalopram is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor used in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. This study investigated the effect of escitalopram in forced swimming test (FST) and in the tail suspension test (TST) in mice, and tested the hypothesis that the inhibition of NMDA receptors and NO-cGMP synthesis is implicated in its mechanism of action in the FST. Escitalopram administered by i.p. route reduced the immobility time both in the FST (0.3-10 mg/kg) and in the TST (0.1-10 mg/kg). ⋯ None of the drugs produced significant effects on the locomotor activity in the open-field test. Altogether, our data suggest that the antidepressant-like effect of escitalopram is dependent on inhibition of either NMDA receptors or NO-cGMP synthesis. The results contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the antidepressant-like effect of escitalopram and reinforce the role of NMDA receptors and l-arginine-NO-GMP pathway in the mechanism of action of antidepressant agents.
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Eur Neuropsychopharmacol · Oct 2010
First episode drug-naïve major depressive disorder with panic disorder: gray matter deficits in limbic and default network structures.
This study was designed to investigate the structural differences in the brains of first episode, drug-naïve patients with major depressive disorder and panic disorder versus healthy control subjects. High-resolution brain magnetic resonance images were performed on patients and health control subjects (age, sex and handedness matched). ⋯ These results suggested that this group of patients has possible deficits of gray matter volumes over the default-mode network, fronto-cingulate and limbic structures. The decline of gray matter volumes might have started since the first episode.
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Eur Neuropsychopharmacol · Aug 2010
Case ReportsBroken heart syndrome: Tako Tsubo cardiomyopathy associated with an overdose of the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor Venlafaxine.
To describe a case of Tako Tsubo cardiomyopathy [TTC] in a patient after an overdose of the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor [SNRI] Venlafaxine. ⋯ To our knowledge this is the first reported case of an overdose of Venlafaxine (SNRI) associated Tako Tsubo cardiomyopathy.
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Eur Neuropsychopharmacol · Apr 2010
Mapping the brain pathways of traumatic memory: inactivation of protein kinase M zeta in different brain regions disrupts traumatic memory processes and attenuates traumatic stress responses in rats.
Protein kinase M zeta (PKMzeta), a constitutively active isoform of protein kinase C, has been implicated in protein synthesis-dependent maintenance of long-term potentiation and memory storage in the brain. Recent studies reported that local application of ZIP, a membrane-permeant PKMzeta inhibitor, into the insular cortex (IC) of behaving rats abolished long-term memory of taste associations. ⋯ Predator scent related memories are located in different brain areas at different times beginning with an initial hippocampus-dependent consolidation process, and are eventually stored in the IC. These bring the IC to the forefront as a potential region of significance in processes related to traumatic stress-induced disorders.
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Eur Neuropsychopharmacol · Mar 2010
Comparative StudyPalmitoylethanolamide modulates pentobarbital-evoked hypnotic effect in mice: involvement of allopregnanolone biosynthesis.
Palmitoylethanolamde (PEA) is an endogenous lipid neuromodulator that mediates a broad spectrum of pharmacological effects by activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-alpha). Detectable or high levels of PEA in the CNS have been found, but the specific function of this lipid remains to be clarified. Here we report evidence that PEA, activating PPAR-alpha receptor and involving neurosteroids de novo synthesis, modulates pentobarbital-evoked hypnotic effect. ⋯ Accordingly, allopregnanolone (ALLO) levels were in turn higher in brainstem of PEA and pentobarbital treated mice vs pentobarbital alone, as revealed by quantitative analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A Our results demonstrate that exogenous administration of PEA, through a PPAR-alpha-dependent mechanism, modulates neurosteroids formation increasing ALLO levels and leading to a positive modulation of GABA(A) receptor. These data further strengthen our previous data on the role of PPAR-alpha in PEA's actions and could provide a new framework to understand its role in the CNS.