![[Feedback]](/icons/banner/feedbackACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[For Subscribers]](/icons/banner/subscriberACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[Archive]](/icons/banner/archiveACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[Search]](/icons/banner/searchACT.gif){kind=icon}
|
|
|
|
|
||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Received for publication March 10, 2004.
Revised May 27, 2004.
Accepted for publication June 1, 2004.
Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with a decline in cognitive abilities. Patients also frequently have non-cognitive symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, apathy, and psychosis that impair daily living. The most commonly prescribed treatments for Alzheimer's disease are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, such as donepezil (Aricept®) and galantamine (Reminyl®). Enhanced cholinergic functions caused by these compounds are thought to underlie improvements in learning, memory, and attention. The non-cognitive aspects of dementia, however, are usually linked to serotonin and dopamine rather than acetylcholine because those neurotransmitter systems most directly influence mood, emotional balance, and psychosis. Fast cyclic voltammetry applied to mouse striatal brain slices was used to measure the real-time release of DA arising from spontaneous activity or from single electrical stimulations. At concentrations that include their prescribed dosage ranges, donepezil (1 - 1000 nM) and galantamine (50 - 1000 nM) increase action potential dependent dopamine release. Consistent with previous literature, the data support slightly different modes of action for donepezil and galantamine. The ability of these commonly prescribed drugs to alter catecholamine release may underlie their influence over non-cognitive symptoms of dementia. Furthermore, these results suggest that acting via nicotinic receptors, these drugs may serve presently untapped therapeutic roles by altering dopamine release in other disorders involving dopaminergic systems.
Key words:
Dopamine, Nicotinic cholinergic
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  C. Lopes, E. F. R. Pereira, H.-Q. Wu, P. Purushottamachar, V. Njar, R. Schwarcz, and E. X. Albuquerque Competitive Antagonism between the Nicotinic Allosteric Potentiating Ligand Galantamine and Kynurenic Acid at {alpha}7* Nicotinic Receptors J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., July 1, 2007; 322(1): 48 - 58. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. H. Friedlander, D. C. Norman, M. E. Mahler, K. M. Norman, and J. A. Yagiela Alzheimer's disease: Psychopathology, medical management and dental implications. J Am Dent Assoc, September 1, 2006; 137(9): 1240 - 1251. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Raiteri Functional pharmacology in human brain. Pharmacol. Rev., June 1, 2006; 58(2): 162 - 193. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
