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significant source of neurological disorders

heapsreal

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A group of South Korean scientists have discovered what could be a significant source of neurological disorders, such as depression, and may lead to the development of better treatment for such illnesses, the science ministry said on Saturday.
The team led by Lee Chang-joon, a researcher from the Korea Institute of Science & Technology, confirmed for the first time in the world that non-neuronal cells can secrete glutamate, a neurotransmitter that is important for learning and memory, according to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Abnormal secretion of glutamate can cause an imbalance between substances in the human nervous system that stimulate or depress and could lead to neurological disorders, according to the research team, which also included Professor Park Jae-yong of the Gyeongsang National University and Prof Bae Yong-cheol of Kyungpook National University.
"By confirming molecular secretion of neurotransmitters by non-neuronal cells for the first time in the world, this study suggests the possibility of new, better treatment for neurological disorders that are caused by an imbalance between stimulants and depressors," Lee was quoted as saying.
The scientist, working with a different team then, confirmed secretion of neurotransmitters by non-neuronal cells, also for the first time in the world, two years ago.
Lee and his team's latest findings were published Friday in the latest edition of international science journal Cell.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8540562
 

heapsreal

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There go's the lack of serotonin theory as a cause of depression and these guys are calling these things neurological disorders not psychological disorders as they can actually find physiological abnormalities??
 

Bob

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There go's the lack of serotonin theory as a cause of depression and these guys are calling these things neurological disorders not psychological disorders as they can actually find physiological abnormalities??

Yes, it's always been fairly obvious that low serotonin is just a symptom.
They have never explained what causes the low serotonin.
And the low serotonin is probably only relevant in some cases of depression, as SSRI's don't work for everyone.
Thanks for posting, Heapsreal.
Interesting.
 

Vincent

Senior Member
Messages
126
Location
Baltimore, Maryland USA
And most folk with ME have high seratonin levels.
SSRIs werre *horrible* for me :(

also let's be honest, the SSRI issue was also about selling drugs, hence investigations etc into some doctors/pharma corps etc

A great book to read on this subject is 'The truth about drug companies' by a former head of the New England Journal of Medicine. For a more contemporary example note how GSK was just fined 3 billion dollars for illegally marketing dangerous drugs like risperadal to kids, even though it's not approved for use in children.
 

alex3619

Senior Member
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Logan, Queensland, Australia
Actually its known in serotonin science circles that some depressed patients have high serotonin. That has been known since the 1980s.

Glutamate is a critical factor in Pall's NO/ONOO theory.

Bye, Alex
 

Tally

Senior Member
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367
Could someone please explain the significance that this discovery might have for us?
 

jeffrez

Senior Member
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1,112
Location
NY
NMDA, glutamate, and metabotropic glutamate receptors are being implicated pretty strongly in depression for the past few years.

What typically really screws up glutamatergic systems? Right, mercury. Riluzole is one drug that might start helping people with Hg-related glutamatergic & NMDA issues. I researched it a few years ago a little bit, but was only just reminded of it now thanks to this thread. I tried namenda to see what effects that would have, but it only really seemed to increase a feeling that I was going to have a seizure. But maybe there are more things that might help in this area by now.
 

Bob

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Could someone please explain the significance that this discovery might have for us?

Hi Tally, it just applies to psychiatric illnesses (specifically to depression) and not to ME.

It looks like it's very early days, but it might be another mechanism of depression (and possibly other psychiatric illnesses) that can be investigated. If it turns out to lead somewhere helpful, then they could potentially target this mechanism with new therapeutic drugs, to treat depression etc.
 

user9876

Senior Member
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4,556
Hi Tally, it just applies to psychiatric illnesses (specifically to depression) and not to ME.

It looks like it's very early days, but it might be another mechanism of depression (and possibly other psychiatric illnesses) that can be investigated. If it turns out to lead somewhere helpful, then they could potentially target this mechanism with new therapeutic drugs, to treat depression etc.

I would assume that anything that helps in understanding the neurotransmitters helps in understanding the brain, potentially will give clues to other neurological disorders. Perhaps the techniques they used might help look for other stuff.
 

alex3619

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This is an expansion of the ideas that might help the NO/ONOO hypothesis of ME and related diseases. Its not just about depression. It might explain some part of all neuroimmune diseases, or a few, or none. We need to wait for more research. Bye, Alex
 

user9876

Senior Member
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This is an expansion of the ideas that might help the NO/ONOO hypothesis of ME and related diseases. Its not just about depression. It might explain some part of all neuroimmune diseases, or a few, or none. We need to wait for more research. Bye, Alex
I've not heard of the NO/ONOO hypothesis do you have a good pointer.
 

alex3619

Senior Member
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Logan, Queensland, Australia
Hi user9876, yes. Its been discussed a lot here on PR over the years, and I have been discussing it for over a decade.

Here is the central website: http://www.thetenthparadigm.org/

Rich and Marty had recently begun discussing how the two models could be merged. Marty's model is about feedback loops in oxidative and nitrosative stress. More recently authors like Maes have discussed this.

Bye, Alex
 

Lynne B

Senior Member
Messages
126
Location
sydney, australia
Thanks, Heapsreal and Alex for bringing both these sources to our attention. I've long felt there's a physical link with anxiety and depression; I've hypothesised my automatically negative thoughts about 3 in the morning are due to lowered levels of some essential chemical in my brain and I also notice anxiety seems to accompany any change at all in routine, never mind any real challenges to self-esteem. Looks like there's quite a lot of reading to do.

cheers, Lynne
 

jimells

Senior Member
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northern Maine
It is my distinct impression that there is no actual evidence that low serotonin causes depression, and that studies suggest SSRIs are no better than placebos. But as @tesilverblade pointed out, that's no impediment to drug sales!

I got a good chuckle from the article:
...also for the first time in the world, two years ago.

(google translate??)

I've been trying to comprehend some of the different theories and treatment approaches. They remind me of the story of the blindfolded people each feeling a different part of an elephant. I keep thinking the 'competing' theories are all parts of the same elephant.
 

Gavman

Senior Member
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316
Location
Sydney
Ssris seem to at least hinder the stress response. I think they are effective for certain people - the question is what effect? Does the improvement outweigh the damage?
 

Ian

Senior Member
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282
Abnormal secretion of glutamate can cause an imbalance between substances in the human nervous system that stimulate or depress and could lead to neurological disorders, according to the research team, which also included Professor Park Jae-yong of the Gyeongsang National University and Prof Bae Yong-cheol of Kyungpook National University.

lol. People eat free glutamate, it's called MSG. Free glutamate spikes your blood glutamate levels basically causing brain damage. This has been known for decades. It's a similar kind of toxicity to that of refined sugar. Blood sugar levels must be kept within a certain range and spiking causes damage.

 

Sparrow

Senior Member
Messages
691
Location
Canada
There's been some interesting research into the serotonin and depression connection (or lack thereof). Serotonin levels tend to rise pretty quickly when taking an SSRI, but depressive symptoms don't usually get any better for weeks. Some scientists think that the improvement in mood has more to do with the new brain growth the drugs can trigger.

I think they work very well for some people. But I also think there is probably not one single etiology when it comes to depression. I think there are a lot of different things that can cause those symptoms, so it isn't one size fits all. I think that's why the current standard antidepressants work great for some people but not at all for others.

They were terrible for me. Anything intended to raise serotonin levels seems to just make me horribly depressed.