title: Calcitonin gene related peptide in familial dysautonomia.
abstract: Familial dysautonomia (FD) patients have diminished sensory C-fibers. Calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) is a widely distributed neuropeptide and prominent neurotransmitter in C-fibers. We show that plasma CGRP levels measured by radioimmunoassay is significantly lower in 51 FD patients compared to controls (P<0.001). In 11/51 FD patients with FD crisis and in 19/51 FD patients with pneumonia, the mean CGRP levels rose significantly as compared to their baseline (P<0.003, P<0.001, respectively). The deficiency of CGRP in FD patients is consistent with their depletion of C-fibers, and may explain some of their symptoms, either directly or via modulation of sympathetic activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Hadassah University Hospital, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maayan
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gesundheit
authors.forename: S I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Girgis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004402:Dysautonomia, Familial / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000473:pathology; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D011863:Radioimmunoassay
chemical_list: D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide