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Bringing Advocacy, Hope and Cure for Metabolic and Mental Disorders. The European Mental and Metabolism Association (EMMA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 1996 and officialised in June 2005. The scope of this essentially European, but also International, Association is to advocate reliable, valid and independent biomedical research, and bring the hope for a cure, in the field of Mental and Metabolic diseases. "Synaptic plasticity and adaptive behaviors are likely dependent on the capacity of neurons to meet the energy demands for neuronal activity, imposed by daily environmental challenges. In case of excessive pressure, neuronal energy metabolism may get overwhelmed. Then, depressed mood, tiredness, low-energy feelings, and listlessness are the most common symptoms associated with such a mental fatigue." Evolved Minds shall : concentrate onto a goal, filter distracting stimuli, evaluate the input against a cognitive map, elaborate and evaluate responses, perform planned activities, inhibit all inappropriate drives. Any failure of energy metabolism in brain areas subserving these functions likely results in a failure of behavior, often called "symptom", and in mental disorder.
A Guide to Behavioral Science, the scientific study of behavior: merging Psychology to Ethology. The applied research on animal behavior (and its modulation by environmental influences and/or innovative biomedical agents) implies testing alive animals. Please sign the petition for sustaining the need of laboratory research with animals (as ruled by Law and for the sake of Human Health).
LATEST NEWS & SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES, "ADHD" June 16, 2009 - Update: ADHD Drugs and Sudden Death by Sheila Rogers, Director ACN With 2.5 million kids in the U.S. on stimulant medications like Ritalin and Adderall, it's big news when research shows that the incidence of sudden death is 7.4 times higher among this group (aged 7 -19). Other possible factors as causes of the deaths were ruled out.
The hyperactive children killed by these drugs represent just the tip of the iceberg. You can be sure that many more children are being harmed to different degrees and in varying ways without family or physician awareness. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that the harm could often be avoided if the youngsters were properly examined and treated for nutritional deficiencies as well as allergic and toxic exposures.
Dr. Benedetto Vitiello, chief of child and adolescent treatment intervention at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health said. "It rings a bell for everyone to be more attentive and less cavalier about the use of these drugs." That's an understatement. Read a report here.
Sept 4, 2009. "Carboxylesterase 1 gene polymorphism and methylphenidate response in ADHD" by Nemoda Z, Angyal N, Tarnok Z, Gadoros J, Sasvari-Szekely M on the journal "Neuropharmacology".
Abstract: Methylphenidate (MPH) is the most frequently prescribed drug in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Several pharmacogenetic studies suggested that catecholamine candidate genes influence individual MPH-responses, but these results are mostly contradictory. Genetic analyses of MPH metabolizing carboxylesterase 1 enzyme (CES1) have not been carried out, whereas, meta-analysis of CYP2D6 genetic variants has been already indicated significant pharmacogenetic differences in atomoxetine treatment. Here we present an association analysis of the CES1 Gly143Glu functional polymorphism in a Hungarian ADHD group (n = 173). The genotype frequencies were similar to that of the general population (5.8% vs 4.1% of Gly/Glu heterozygote). Pharmacogenetic analysis was conducted among 122 ADHD children treated with MPH. Neither the categorical analysis comparing 90 responders vs 32 non-responders, nor the dimensional analysis of Inattention and Hyperactivity-Impulsivity score reduction showed a significant main genotype effect. However, analyzing the daily dose, we observed an association with the rare 143Glu-variant: 5 patients in the responder group carrying the Glu-allele required lower doses of MPH for symptom reduction (0.410 +/- 0.127 vs 0.572 +/- 0.153 mg/kg, t(1,88) = 2.33, p = 0.022). This result warrants for further investigations of the CES1 gene in larger ADHD samples.
May 12, 2009 — NARSAD (Great Neck, N.Y.) — Young Investigator Tracie Paine, Ph.D., was the lead author of a study by Harvard neuroscientists that identified a new link between a brain enzyme and attention deficits and hyperactivity, two key symptoms of attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The research, performed at McLean Hospital and published online on April 22 by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, suggests that an enzyme called protein kinase-A (PKA) plays an important role in keeping these symptoms in check. Apr 28, 2009 - Altered anandamide degradation in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. by Centonze D., ..., Curatolo P., Maccarrone M. on Neurology.
ADHD : suggested multiple susceptibility genes Guan et al., Molecular Psychiatry (2009) 14, 546–554 To read click hereof page AbstractAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood-onset behavioral disorder with a definite genetic component. The search for genes predisposing to ADHD has focused on genes involved in the regulation of monoamine systems. In this study, we emphasized genes that underlie various aspects of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin neurotransmissions and performed a comprehensive association analysis by screening with 245 single-nucleotide poly-morphisms (SNPs) of 23 candidate genes in a sample of Chinese Han descent. A total of 182 DSM-IV ADHD children and 184 healthy controls were genotyped and analyzed with an average density of one SNP every 6.1 kb. Both single-SNP and multi-marker haplotype analyses were implemented to exploit association signal for ADHD and its diagnostic subtypes. Empirical P-values were derived on the basis of 5000 permutations to evaluate gene-wide significance. MAOA yielded highly suggestive evidence of association (empirical P<0.01, OR=1.94) with ADHD. For inattentive-subtype ADHD, MAOA, DDC and SYP showed suggestive evidence of a quite strong association (empirical P<0.05). ADRA2C achieved suggestive significance (empirical P<0.05) for ADHD combined type. Additionally, and most interestingly, for six genes (i.e. SNAP25, NET1, DBH, CHRNA4,DRD3 and SYT1) we detected one or more SNPs with nominal P-values 0.05. This study has identified several genes as promising susceptibility loci for ADHD. Replication efforts and further investigations remain necessary to provide definite proof of association.
March 20, 2009. Future of endocannabinoid-oriented clinical research after CB(1) antagonists. Le Foll B, Gorelick DA, Goldberg SR. Psychopharmacology [Epub ahead of print]
INTRODUCTION: Great interest has been shown by the medical community and the public in the cannabinoid CB(1) receptor antagonists, such as rimonabant, for treatment of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and possibly drug addiction.
DISCUSSION: This novel class of drug has therapeutic potential for other disorders, as the endocannabinoid system is involved in various health conditions. However, rimonabant, the first clinically available member of this class of drugs, has been linked to increased risk of anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Due to those risks, the European Medicines Agency called for its
withdrawal from the market in October, 2008. Shortly after this decision, several "major" pharmaceutical companies (Sanofi-aventis, Merck, Pfizer, Solvay) announced that they would stop further clinical research on this class of drug. Here, we provide an overview of those events and make several suggestions for continuing such clinical research, while safeguarding the safety of patients and clinical trial subjects. All NEWS before February 2009 can be found in our HISTORICAL ARCHIVE.
Full Text: HTML, PDF (Size: 158K) Evidence of Developmental Alterations in Cortical and Subcortical Regions of Children With Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder. Multivoxel In Vivo Phosphorus 31 Spectroscopy. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008;65(12):1419-1428. An interesting paper on 31-P MRS as diagnostic tool (click to read)
OTHER NEWS & DISCOVERIES: Feb 25, 2009 : Behav Brain Funct. 2009 ; 5:11.  
May 6, 2009. Biol Psychiatry. 2009 [Epub ahead of print] Changes in the Developmental Trajectories of Striatum in Autism. By Langen M, et al.
The effect of 5-HTT gene promoter polymorphism on impulsivity depends on family relations ... Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antibodies, cognitive dysfunction, and depression ...  |
July 2010
