An in vitro model of mitochondrial dysfunction with subsequent oxidative stress was elaborated and utilized to study the effect of drugs, currently used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, on pathological H(2)O(2)-evoked [(3)H]dopamine efflux and the formation of toxic dopamine metabolites in rat striatal slices. 60 min rotenone (0.1-10 muM) pretreatment decreased dopamine content and [(3...

OBJECTIVE The Food and Drug Administration currently requires the package inserts of most psychostimulant medications to list the presence of a tic disorder as a contraindication to their use. Approximately half of children with Tourette's syndrome experience comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We sought to determine the relative efficacy of different medications in treati...

The activity of deaminating monoamine-O-oxidoreduc tase E.C. 1.4.3.4. (MAO) has been found in almost all tissues of vertebrates which have been studied (4, 7). This activity seems to occur exclusively in the outer membrane of the mitochondria and as a result of this localization, MA0 deaminate extravesicular catecholamines in the intracellular compartment. Appropriate aldehydes, further oxidate...

OBJECTIVES The present subacute study was designed to evaluate the effect of coenzyme Q 10 (CoQ10) in the 28 days aroclor 1254 exposure induced oxidative stress in mice brain. METHODS Biochemical estimations of brain lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH), and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and acetyl cholinesterase (AChE), ...

Studying autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease (ADAD), caused by gene mutations yielding nearly complete penetrance and a distinct age of symptom onset, allows investigation of presymptomatic pathological processes that can identify a therapeutic window for disease-modifying therapies. Astrocyte activation may occur in presymptomatic Alzheimer's disease (AD) because reactive astrocytes surroun...

Although not used as extensively as other antidepressants for the treatment of depression, the monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors continue to hold a niche in psychiatry and to have a relatively broad spectrum with regard to treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Experimental and clinical research on MAO inhibitors has been expanding in the past few years, primarily because of exci...

Stress detrimentally affects the brain and body and can lead to or be accompanied by depression. Although stress and depression may contribute to each other, the exact molecular mechanism underlying the effects is unclear. However, there is a correlation between stress and an increase in glucocorticoid secretion which causes a subsequent increase in monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity during stres...

BACKGROUND Vitamin D insufficiency has been reported to be more common in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) than in healthy control subjects, but it is not clear whether having a chronic disease causing reduced mobility contributes to this relatively high prevalence. OBJECTIVE To examine the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in a cohort of untreated patients with early PD (diagnosed wi...

BACKGROUND Recent studies have suggested that higher serum cholesterol may be associated with lower occurrence of Parkinson's disease (PD). This study is to test the hypothesis that higher serum cholesterol correlates with slower PD progression. METHODS Baseline non-fasting serum total cholesterol was measured in 774 of the 800 subjects with early PD enrolled between 1987 and 1988 in the Depr...

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) is an enzyme involved in the breakdown of catecholamines including dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. MAO inhibitors were discovered in the late 1950s and were first utilized in the treatment of depression. In 1962 Bernheimer showed that MAO inhibitors could potentiate the antiparkinsonian effect of levodopa but caused severe hypertensive crisis (1). In 1968, Johns...