Akinetic crisis or acute akinesia is a life-threatening complication of Parkinson's disease (PD) with unknown pathophysiological mechanisms. Clinically, it resembles the neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and dopaminergic drugs are transiently ineffective in the acute phase of the condition. There are no published dopaminergic functional imaging studies on PD patients with akinetic crisis. Here we...

We now know of a surprising number of cases where single neurons contain multiple neurotransmitters. Neurons that contain a fast-acting neurotransmitter, such as glutamate or GABA, and a modulatory transmitter, such as dopamine, are a particularly interesting case because they presumably serve dual signaling functions. The olfactory bulb contains a large population of GABA- and dopamine-contain...

Mutations in α-synuclein, a protein highly enriched in presynaptic terminals, have been implicated in the expression of familial forms of Parkinson's disease (PD) whereas native α-synuclein is a major component of intraneuronal inclusion bodies characteristic of PD and other neurodegenerative disorders. Although overexpression of human α-synuclein induces dopaminergic nerve terminal degeneratio...

Adolescent males have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia, implicating testosterone in the precipitation of dopamine-related psychopathology. Evidence from adult rodent brain indicates that testosterone can modulate nigrostriatal dopamine. However, studies are required to understand the role testosterone plays in maturation of dopamine pathways during adolescence and to elucidate the ...

Markers of identified neuronal populations have previously suggested selective degeneration of projection neurons in Huntington's disease (HD) striatum. Interpretations are, however, limited by effects of compensatory regulation and atrophy. Studies of the vesicular monoamine transporter type-2 (VMAT2) and of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) in experimental animals indicate that ...

The molecular basis for substrate translocation in the Na+/Cl--dependent neurotransmitter transporters remains elusive. Here we report novel insight into the translocation mechanism by delineation of an endogenous Zn2+-binding site in the human dopamine transporter (hDAT). In micromolar concentrations, Zn2+ was found to act as a potent, non-competitive blocker of dopamine uptake in COS cells ex...