Current Neuropharmacology - Volume 14, Issue 8, 2016

In the recent years we have been observing an increased incidence of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents. This leads to a more frequent acute complication of type 1 diabetes among children with hyperglycemia. The most common of these is diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), while cerebral edema is the most dangerous. In children with DKA, cerebral edema most often presents with clinical symptoms but may also appear in Read More

Neurodegeneration is an initial process in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). High quantities of glutamate, oxidative stress, induction of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and elevated levels of RAGE are crucial elements in the retinal neurodegeneration caused by diabetes mellitus. At least, there is emerging proof to indicate that the equilibrium between the neurotoxic and neuroprotective components will affect the Read More

Diabetic retinopathy is generally considered as a microvascular disease which develops as a result of chronic hyperglycaemia. However, the neuronal apoptosis and reactive gliosis are recently postulated as early changes in diabetic retinopathy. This phenomenon is described as a neurodegeneration and suggests that diabetic retinopathy should be recognized as a neurovascular complication. In this review, we disc Read More

Autophagy is an important homeostatic cellular process encompassing a number of consecutive steps indispensable for degrading and recycling cytoplasmic materials. Basically autophagy is an adaptive response that under stressful conditions guarantees the physiological turnover of senescent and impaired organelles and, thus, controls cell fate by various cross-talk signals. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a serious micro Read More

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is an important complication of diabetes and is considered one of the main causes of blindness in moderate-income and highly-developed countries. As it is a major socioeconomic problem, defining all mechanisms that may lead to DR development is of great importance. In the 21st century diabetic lesions occurring in the retina are well known. However what kind of retinal neuronal dam Read More

In spite of the extensive research the complex pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR) has not been fully elucidated. For many years it has been thought that diabetic retinopathy manifests only with microangiopathic lesions, which are totally responsible for the loss of vision in diabetic patients. In view of the current knowledge on the microangiopathic changes in the fundus of the eye, diabetic retinopathy is perceived a Read More

Background: Although the precise pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) remains unknown, it is generally considered to be a disorder of the brain-gut axis, representing the disruption of communication between the brain and the digestive system. The present review describes advances in understanding the pathophysiology and experimental approaches in studying IBS, as well as providing an update of the ther Read More

Background: Brain-gut interaction involves, among others, peptidergic growth factors which are native in GI tract and have strong antiulcer potency and thus could from periphery beneficially affect CNS-disorders. We focused on the stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157, an antiulcer peptidergic agent, safe in inflammatory bowel disease trials and now in multiple sclerosis trial, native and stable in human gastric juice. Read More

We examined the influence of adrenalectomy on NSAID-induced small intestinal damage in rats and investigated the possible involvement of adrenal glucocorticoids in the protective effects of urocortin I, a corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) agonist. Male SD rats without fasting were administered indomethacin s.c. and killed 24 h later in order to examine the hemorrhagic lesions that developed in the small intestine. U Read More

Background: The brain and the gut interact bi-directionally through the brain-gut axis. The interaction is mediated by the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system. The first brilliant demonstration of the brain-gut interactions was the cephalic phase of gastric and pancreatic secretion discovered by Ivan Pavlov, the first physiologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiolo Read More

Background: Nucleobindin2 (NUCB2)/nesfatin-1 plays a well-established role in homeostatic functions associated with food intake and stress integration. Aim: This review focusses on NUCB2/nesfatin-1’s central effects on gastrointestinal functions and will summarize the effects on food intake, motility and secretion with focus on the upper gastrointestinal tract. Results: We will highlight the stressors that influence brain N Read More

Background: Stress of different origin is known to alter so called “braingut axis” and contributes to a broad array of gastrointestinal disorders including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other functional gastrointestinal diseases. The stressful situations and various stressors including psychosocial events, heat, hypo- and hyperthermia may worsen the course of IBD via unknown mechani Read More

Background: The authors, as internists, registered significant difference in the long lasting actions of surgical and chemical (atropine treatment) vagotomy in patients with peptic ulcer during second half of the last century (efficency, gastric acid secretion, gastrointestinal side effects, briefly benefical and harmful actions were examined). Aims: 1. Since the authors participated in the establishing of human clinical pharmacolo Read More

Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain and spinal cord injury and neuroinflammatory multiple sclerosis are diverse disorders of the central nervous system. However, they are all characterized by various levels of inappropriate inflammatory/immune response along with tissue destruction. In the gastrointestinal system, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is also a consequence of tissue destruction resulting Read More

Modulating the activity of the endocannabinoid system influences various gastrointestinal physiological and pathophysiological processes, and cannabinoid receptors as well as regulatory enzymes responsible for the synthesis or degradation of endocannabinoids representing potential targets to reduce the development of gastrointestinal mucosal lesions, hemorrhage and inflammation. Direct activation of CB1 receptor Read More

Background: Major depressive disorder is a common, debilitating psychiatric disorder, which originates from the interaction of susceptibility genes and noxious environmental events, in particular stressful events. It has been shown that dysregulation of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, imbalance between anti- and pro-inflammatory cytokines, depletion of neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine and/or dopamine) i Read More

Background: The gut-brain axis plays a potential role in numerous physiological and pathological conditions. Several substances link stomach with central nervous system. In particular, hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, thyrotropinreleasing factor-containing nerve fibers and capsaicin-sensitive nerves are principal mediators of the harmful and protective central nervous system-mediated effects on gastric mucosa. Also, Read More