1,721,074 research outputs found

    Tumor necrosis factor and motoneuronal degeneration: an open problem

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    : Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various central nervous system diseases with an inflammatory component. Elevated TNF levels were observed in animal models of motor neuron disease (MND), and activation of the TNF system has been reported in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The easy availability of scientific reports to the layman through the web, often based only on the abstracts, has prompted many patients to ask whether anti-TNF therapy might be beneficial in ALS. This review discusses the possible role of TNF in motoneuronal degeneration. Although TNF is mostly regarded as neurotoxic cytokine, there are reports of a neuroprotective and neurotrophic action. Studies with animal models of ALS are not sufficient to show whether TNF has a pathogenic or a protective role in MND though anti-TNF antibodies have shown protective effects in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). On the other hand, while TNF-deficient mice are protected from EAE, anti-TNF antibodies worsen the disease in MS patients, suggesting caution in extrapolating preliminary basic studies to the patient

    Selective reduction of one class of dopamine receptor binding sites in the corpus striatum of aged rats.

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    In aged rats (21-23 vs 3 month) the neuroleptic receptor number was reduced in the striatum (--53%), in the limbic area (--36%), and not changed in the cortex. The in vitro pharmacological profile of the remaining [3H]spiroperidol receptors in each area was not modified in aged animals. The binding of [3H]ADTN (2-amino-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronapthalene) in the striatum and of [3H]serotonin ([3H]-5 HT) in the cortex was also the same in both age groups

    Nigral dopamine autoreceptors are exclusively of the D2 type: quantitative autoradiography of [125I]iodosulpride and [125I]SCH 23982 in adjacent brain sections

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    The effect of unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the medial forebrain bundle on the specific binding of [125I]iodosulpride and [125I]SCH 23982 in the rat substantia nigra was determined by quantitative autoradiography of adjacent sections. The specific binding of [125I]iodosulpride was reduced by 40-70% on the lesioned side in the substantia nigra pars compacta, reticulata, lateralis and in the ventral tegmental area. In contrast, the specific [125I]SCH 23982 binding was unchanged in all subdivisions of the substantia nigra. The results indicate that dopamine autoreceptors are present in the substantia nigra and in the ventral tegmental area and that they are exclusively of the D2 type
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