title: Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and cholinergic modulation in Myasthenia Gravis and neuroinflammation.
abstract: The cholinergic network affects various cellular functions including neurotransmission, and immune reactions. In Myasthenia Gravis (MG), diagnosis and symptomatic therapy are based on cholinergic modulation by acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEI). In Alzheimer's disease (AD) a neurodegenerative disorder associated with inflammatory pathology, cholinergic systems cell loss occurs early. Treatments with special AChEI enhance cholinergic transmission and may act as anti-inflammatory agent via immunocompetent cells expressing alpha-7 acetylcholine receptor (AChR). In Multiple Sclerosis (MS) an inflammatory T-cell-mediated disease, demyelination and neurodegeneration follow neuroinflammation. MS treatment includes anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory drugs. AChEI can induce cholinergic up-regulation with subsequent effect on neuroinflammation via alpha-7-AChR expressing cells. These effects are additional to the cognitive benefit induced by AChEI.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, and the Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics, Hadassah University Hospital and Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. brenner@cc.huji.ac.il
authors.forename: Talma
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brenner
authors.forename: Eran
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nizri
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Irony-Tur-Sinai
authors.forename: Yasmine
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hamra-Amitay
authors.forename: Itzhak
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wirguin
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D000109:Acetylcholine