title: The CRF System as a Therapeutic Target for Neuropsychiatric Disorders.
abstract: The major neuropsychiatric disorders are devastating illnesses that are only modestly responsive to treatment. Improving the treatment of these conditions will require innovative new strategies that depart from previously focused-on pharmacological mechanisms. Considerable preclinical and clinical data indicate corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) signaling as a target for new psychotropic drug development. Here we review alterations in the CRF system reported in several psychiatric conditions. We also examine the preclinical work that has dissected the distinctive roles of CRF receptors in specific circuits relevant to these disorders. We further describe the clinical trials of CRF1 receptor antagonists that have been conducted. Although these clinical trials have thus far met with limited therapeutic success, the unfolding complexity of the CRF system promises many future directions for studying its role in the etiology and treatment of neuropsychiatric conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: jeff.d.sanders@emory.edu.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nemeroff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D018019:Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D000099052:CRF Receptor, Type 1
chemical_list: D018019:Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; D000099052:CRF Receptor, Type 1; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
keywords: CRF; polymorphisms; preclinical; psychopathology; stress; treatment