Antineoplastic drugs have been shown to exert direct effects on the gut and induce the release of serotonin from the enterochromaffin cells of small intestinal mucosa. It is thought that released serotonin stimulates vagal afferent fibers through 5-HT3 receptors located in the vagal afferent terminals in the gastrointestinal tract and initiates sensory signals to the area postrema and the emeti...

Recent studies indicated that hyperactivity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal system is a considerable risk factor for the precipitation of affective disorders, most notably of major depression. The mechanism by which this hyperactivity eventually leads to clinical symptoms of depression is unknown. In the present animal study, we tested one possible mechanism, i.e., that long-term exposure ...

We investigated serotonin stimulated palmitoylation of G alpha subunits in rat brain cerebrocortical membranes. Serotonin dose dependently stimulated palmitoylation of membrane G alpha proteins. The highest [3H] palmitate incorporation observed was by G alpha-q (7-fold), followed by G alpha-o (5-fold), G alpha-i (4-fold) and G alpha-s (3-fold) and these increases in palmitoylation were blocked ...

The Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome (SLOS) is a congenital and developmental malformation syndrome associated with defective cholesterol biosynthesis. SLOS is clinically diagnosed by reduced plasma levels of cholesterol along with elevated levels of 7-dehydrocholesterol (and its positional isomer 8-dehydrocholesterol) and the ratio of their concentrations to that of cholesterol. Since SLOS is associ...

OBJECTIVE We investigated the association between serotonin- or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)-related gene polymorphisms and response to antidepressant treatment in a specific symptom cluster of major depression by using the three-factor model of the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), ie, dysphoria (items of sadness, pessimistic thoughts, and suicidal thoughts), retardation (items ...

Psychological and pharmacological modalities have been proposed by studies to be adapted for treatment of panic disorder. Selective Serotonin Receptor Inhibitors (SSRI), a group antidepressant is the first-line drug recommended National Institute Health Care Excellence (NICE) British Association Psychopharmacology their more desired profile adverse effect over other classes antidepressants such...