The Opioid-Addicted Tetrapartite Synapse

X Chromosome Inactivation in Opioid Addicted Women

Introduction: X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is a process during which one of the two X chromosomes in female human is silenced leading to equal gene expression with males who have only one X chromosome. Here we have investigated XCI ratio in females with opioid addiction to see whether XCI skewness in women could be a risk factor for opioid addiction. Methods: 30 adult females meeting DS...

Divide over treating opioid-addicted moms.

X Chromosome Inactivation in Opioid Addicted Women

INTRODUCTION X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is a process during which one of the two X chromosomes in female human is silenced leading to equal gene expression with males who have only one X chromosome. Here we have investigated XCI ratio in females with opioid addiction to see whether XCI skewness in women could be a risk factor for opioid addiction. METHODS 30 adult females meeting DSM IV ...

Gender issues in the pharmacotherapy of opioid-addicted women: buprenorphine.

Gender, a biological determinant of mental health and illness, plays a critical role in determining patients' susceptibility, exposure to mental health risks, and related outcomes. Regarding sex differences in the epidemiology of opioid dependence, one third of the patients are women of childbearing age. Women have an earlier age of initiation of substance use and a more rapid progression to dr...

The tetrapartite synapse: Extracellular matrix remodeling contributes to corticoaccumbens plasticity underlying drug addiction.

Synaptic plasticity has long been known to involve three key elements of neuropil, the presynapse, the postsynapse and adjacent glia. Here we review the role of the extracellular matrix in synaptic plasticity as a necessary component forming the tetrapartite synapse. We describe the role of matrix metalloproteinases as enzymes sculpting extracellular proteins and thereby creating an extracellul...