Influence of somatostatin and growth hormone-releasing factor on behavior. Clinical and therapeutic implications in neuropsychiatric disorders.
Administration of hypothalamic peptides has been reported to induce behavioral changes and to modify neurological functions such as locomotor activity and learning. Somatostatin (SS) and growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) exert opposite effects on anterior pituitary secretion. Similarly, at the central nervous system (CNS) level, SS and GRF display antagonistic actions on behavioral parameters. The authors were able to confirm these effects in male Wistar rats by means of a computerized electronic maze measuring locomotor activity and learning. SS concentration is reduced in specific areas of the CNS in patients with late onset of senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT). In early onset SDAT a GRF test elicits a growth hormone response much greater than that observed in normal controls of the same age or in patients with late onset SDAT. Thus, administration of GRF to patients with early onset SDAT has been followed by a significant improvement in locomotion, appetite, mental performance and social interaction. A possible therapeutic role of GRF in the management of patients with dementia remains to be explored.
D000818:Animals; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
D013004:Somatostatin; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone