title: The human histaminergic system in neuropsychiatric disorders.
abstract: Histaminergic neurons are exclusively located in the hypothalamic tuberomamillary nucleus, from where they project to many brain areas. The histaminergic system is involved in basic physiological functions, such as the sleep-wake cycle, energy and endocrine homeostasis, sensory and motor functions, cognition, and attention, which are all severely affected in neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we present recent postmortem findings on the alterations in this system in neuropsychiatric disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), Huntington's disease (HD), depression, and narcolepsy. In addition, we highlight the need to validate animal models for these diseases and also for Tourette's syndrome (TS) in relation to alterations in the histaminergic system. Moreover, we discuss the potential for, and concerns over, the use of novel histamine 3 receptor (H3R) antagonists/inverse agonists as treatment for such disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam 1105 BA, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Neurobiology Research, Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, 16111 Plummer Street, North Hills, CA 91343, USA.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China. Electronic address: baoaimin@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ai-Min
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam 1105 BA, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dick F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Swaab
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006632:Histamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D006632:Histamine
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Huntington's disease; Parkinson's disease; Tourette's syndrome; histamine; narcolepsy