Schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease

Serotonin is a key transmitter in CNS function. Altered serotonergic function has been implicated in many CNS disorders including depression, feeding behavior, sleep disorders, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer s disease. 

Marcotte ER, Srivastava LK, Quirion R. 2003. cDNA microarray and proteomic approaches in the study of brain diseases focus on schizophrenia and Alzheimer s disease. Pharmacol Ther 100 63. 

Farber NB, Newcomer JW, Olney JW The glutamate synapse in neuropsychiatric disorders focus on schizophrenia and Alzheimer s disease. Prog Brain Res 116 421-437, 1998... 

A limited form of excitotoxicity may be useful as a pruning mechanism for normal maintenance of the dendritic tree (see Fig. 1—23), getting rid of cerebral dead wood like a good gardener however, excitotoxicity to an excess is hypothesized to cause various forms of neurodegeneration, ranging from slow, relentless neurodegenerative conditions such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer s disease to sudden, catastrophic neuronal death such as stroke (Fig. 10—26). 

Friedman JI, Adler DN, Davis KL (1999) The role of norepinephrine in the pathophysiology of cognitive disorders potential applications to the treatment of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia and Alzheimer s disease. Biol. Psychiatry 46 1243-1252. 

The areas reviewed in this chapter represent some research trends and directions in psychiatric therapeutics. Some methods, like VNS and a new generation of medications, are just entering clinical practice and only time will tell what their impact will be. Clearly, the bar must be raised so that newer treatments produce stronger beneficial effects, in shorter times, on a wider segment of patients, and with few or no side effects. These challenges, for example, are particularly formidable in disorders like schizophrenia and Alzheimer s disease, which have relatively high prevalence rates, are severely disabling, and current treatments offer only modest results. 

The markets for ARA and DHA are now well established in Europe and the United Stated and are clearly being developed in Japan as well as in China. The next PUFA that appears likely to be produced is EPA, which could be used as a nutraceutical for over-the-counter sales or, more likely, as a possible pharmaceutical, as there have been numerous reports of its benefits for the treatment of various diseases and disorders. Such conditions as atherosclerosis, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer s disease have all been said to have been improved or relieved by the oral administration of EPA, sometimes on its own, although sometimes with DHA (34, 70-72). EPA and DHA, of course, occur together in many fish oils, and when treatment with both these PUFAs is advocated, then the use of fish oils would seem to be the appropriate recommendation. 

Alteration of serotonin receptors is implicated in a variety of anxiety disorders, depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer s disease. The 5-HTia and 5-HT2a subtypes have received the most attention with respect to developing Tc-labeled receptor-specific complexes. These tracer complexes must also penetrate the BBB. Most of the Tc complexes... 

Haydar SN, Dunlop J (2010) Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors - targets for the development of drugs to treat cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia and Alzheimer s disease. Curr Top Med Chem 10 144—152... 

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Schizophrenia and Alzheimer s Disease... 

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