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Science 24 July 1981:
Vol. 213. no. 4506, pp. 469 - 471
DOI: 10.1126/science.7244645
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Articles

Science, Vol 213, Issue 4506, 469-471
Copyright © 1981 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Medical therapies for mood disorders alter the blood-brain barrier

SH Preskorn, GH Irwin, S Simpson, D Friesen, J Rinne, and G Jerkovich

The effects of amitriptyline, lithium, and electroconvulsive shock on cerebral permeability and blood flow were tested. These three treatments share in common (i) the ability to influence the functional activity of central adrenergic neurons by way of effects on the release, reuptake, or metabolism of norepinephrine and (ii) therapeutic efficacy in mood disturbances. Under control conditions, cerebral permeability increases linealy with increasing arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide and hence cerebral blood flow. All three treatments altered this relationship in a manner consistent with their adrenergic effects. Amitriptyline potentiated this increase in cerebral permeability whereas lithium and electroconvulsive shock blunted this phenomenon. These results support the hypothesis that one function of central adrenergic neurons is regulation of the blood-brain barrier and raise the possibility that a related effect may underlie the clinical usefulness of such treatment.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Mood Disorders, III: Treatment and Clinical Response.
M. S. Nobler, H. A. Sackeim, I. Prohovnik, J. R. Moeller, S. Mukherjee, D. B. Schnur, J. Prudic, and D. P. Devanand (1994)
Arch Gen Psychiatry 51, 884-897
   Abstract »    PDF »
Blood-brain barrier: endogenous modulation by adrenal-cortical function.
J. Long and J. Holaday (1985)
Science 227, 1580-1583
   Abstract »    PDF »


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