Brain monoamines include common biogenic amines (dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin) and trace amines [beta-phenylethylamine (beta-PEA), tyramine, tryptamine, and octopamine]. Common biogenic amines are well established as neurotransmitters, but the roles and functional importance of trace amines remain elusive. Here, we re-evaluated the interaction of trace amines with trace amine-associa...

Poisoning with calcium channel blockers and beta blockers are associated with high mortality and morbidity rates, especially in children. Treatment of poisoning with these drugs includes administration of atropine, glucagon, calcium and inotropic agents as clinically needed; and newer approaches like hyperinsulinemic euglycemia and intravenous lipid emulsion therapies. We herein present two ref...

The transport of norepinephrine and two key enzymes involved in its synthesis, tyrosine hydroxylase (EC 1.14.3a) and dopamine beta-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.2.1), has been studied in relation to other axonal constituents in ligated chicken sciatic nerves. Norepinephrine, tyrosine hydroxylase, and dopamine beta-hydroxylase activity all increased proximal to the constriction over a 20-hr period. The r...

Prolactin plays major roles in maintaining the corpora lutea of pregnancy and in the synthesis of milk during lactation. The hypothalamic mechanisms involved in these functions have been investigated. Mating leads to a surge of prolactin and programs daily surges during early pregnancy. The expression of Fos-immunoreactivity shows that mating activates several hypothalamic nuclei, particularly ...

Recycling of a secretory granule membrane protein, dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, was examined in primary cultures of bovine adrenal chromaffin cells. Cells were stimulated to secrete in the presence of antibodies directed against the luminal domain of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase. The location of the antibodies after various times of reincubation and after a second secretory stimulus was assessed usi...

OBJECTIVE Recent animal PET research has led to the development of PET scanners for small animals. A planar positron imaging system (PPIS) was newly developed to study physiological function in small animals and plants in recent years. To examine the usefulness of PPIS for functional study in small animals, we examined dopaminergic images of mouse striata in MPTP-induced parkinsonism. METHODS...

BACKGROUND Rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism (RDP) is a genetic movement disorder characterized by abrupt onset over hours to days of bradykinesia, postural instability, dysphagia, dysarthria, and severe dystonic spasms with decreased levels of the dopamine metabolite, homovanillic acid (HVA), in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). METHODS We imaged the dopamine re-uptake system with [O-methyl-11C]bet...

Patients with autonomic failure secondary to dopamine beta-hydroxylase deficiency lack the enzyme activity necessary for the conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine in sympathetic nerve terminals and the adrenal medulla. These patients have virtually undetectable norepinephrine and epinephrine in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. The presence of intact sympathetic nerve activity in these patient...