Stress, norepinephrine and depression

Abstract

Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience S11Stress is an important precipitant factor in depression, and the changes in various body systems that occur in depression are similar to those observed in response to stress. This paper discusses the interactions among the immune, endocrine and norepinephrine systems that are evident in patients with depression, as well as those affected by stress. Many of the stress-induced changes can be reversed by antidepressants, particularly norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.Le stress est un important facteur catalyseur dans les cas de dépression et les changements subis par les divers systèmes corporels au cours de la dépression ressemblent à ceux qu'on observe face au stress. Cette communication porte sur les interactions entre les systèmes immunitaire, endocrinien et celui de la norépinéphrine, qui sont évidentes chez les patients atteints de dépression, ainsi que chez ceux qui sont touchés par le stress. Il est possible d'inverser un grand nombre de ces changements causés par le stress en utilisant des antidépresseurs et en particulier des inhibiteurs du recaptage de la norépinéphrine.Norepinephrine in depression and mood disorders La norépinéphrine dans la dépression et les troubles psychiques

Sexually Dimorphic Responses of the Brain Norepinephrine System to Stress and Corticotropin-Releasing Factor

“…Activation of the locus coeruleus (LC)-norepinephrine (NE) system is a consistent response to stress that may function to optimize the state of arousal and mode of attention for adaptation to the challenge (Chrousos and Gold, 1992;O'Connor et al, 2000;Leonard, 2001;Vermetten and Bremner, 2002;Berridge and Waterhouse, 2003;Valentino and Van Bockstaele, 2005). As these functions are disrupted in depression and depression responds to agents that modulate brain NE activity, the LC-NE system is another potential substrate for sex differences in stress-related disorders.…”

Chronic Duloxetine Treatment Induces Specific Changes in the Expression of BDNF Transcripts and in the Subcellular Localization of the Neurotrophin Protein

“…Based on the observation that antidepressant drugs increase synaptic levels of monoamines, primarily serotonin and norepinephrine, it has been postulated that depression is associated with decreased synaptic concentration of such monoamine (Leonard, 2001). However, the time delay for the therapeutic action of antidepressants has led to hypothesize that clinical responses are achieved through neuroadaptive mechanisms, which involve an array of events including changes in signal transduction, modulation of gene expression, and stimulation of neurogenesis (Santarelli et al, 2003;Castren, 2005;Berton and Nestler, 2006;Duman and Monteggia, 2006).…”

Imaging Brain Phospholipase A2-Mediated Signal Transduction in Response to Acute Fluoxetine Administration in Unanesthetized Rats

“…In major depression, serotonergic neurotransmission may be disturbed and processes of cellular immunity may be activated, suggesting a relation between the two processes. Indeed, there appears to be a constant 'crosstalk' between the immune endocrine, central, and peripheral nervous systems which can involve serotonin and arachidonic acid metabolites (eg prostaglandins) (Leonard, 2001;Maier and Watkins, 1998).…”

“…Acute drug also stimulates secretion of pituitary ACTH and adrenal corticosterone (Dinan, 1996;Li et al, 1993). It triggers transcription of the gene encoding the corticotrophin-release factor and its type 1 receptor (Torres et al, 1998), thus affecting the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis that is considered hyperactive in depressed patients (Leonard, 2001).…”