Anxiety Disorders And Their Treatment(+FXS) Flashcards
What is FXS?
It’s a mental condition which is hereditary and arises on chromosome x
What are prominent characteristics of FXS?
Elongated face
Large or protruding ears
Low muscle tone- particularly in the face
What causes FXS?
Expansion of the CGG trinucleotide repeat affecting the fragile x mental retardation 1 gene -FMR1
Prevents the expression of the fragile x mental retardation protein FMRP- this is needed for normal development
Which sex is more affected with FXS ?
Males
The mutation occurs on the X chromosome and the males only have one X chromosomes
What is the “full mutation” for FXS?
> 200 CGG
This mutation occurs in the promoter region of the FMR1 gene and causes a methylated promoter region - this shuts down the gene so little or no mRNA is produced so no protein available
What is the mGluR theory ?
Used to explain many aspects of the clinical symptoms present in patients with FXS and in FMR1 KO mouse
What are the clinical symptoms found in FXS patients and FmR1 KO mice ?
- higher density of spines and more immature spines compared to normal
- electrophysiological deficits in FmR1 mice
- exaggerated dendritic protein in FmR1 KO nice after activation of mGluR5
- behavioural phenotype in patients with FXS and FmR1 KO mice
What does the mGluR theory state ?
That AMPA receptor internalisation triggered by group 1 mGluR stimulation is exaggerated in FXS
What are AMPA receptors do ?
Essential for long term synaptic plasticity
What does FMRP do ?
It negatively regulates transcription and reduces internalisation of AMPA receptors
what is characteristic of neurones from patients with FXS?
they have increased internalisation of AMPA receptors in the absence of FMRP - this reduces long term synaptic plasticity
what happens when mGluR5 is activated ?
they signal through protein kinase c
leads to activation of SRC family tyrosine kinases
what happens when group 1 mGluRs are activated ?
causes the up regulation of protein synthesis and this has been implicated in playing a role in FRMP dependent synaptic plasticity
it is thought that using these receptors as a target, could be a treatment for FXS
what are therapeutic substances for FXS?
negative modulators of mGluR5
what is MPEP and what does it do ?
1st negative modulator of mGluR5 - classed as an mGluR5 antagonist
interacts with transmembrane domain 7
why is MPEP not used in clinical trials?
causes toxicity and had a short half life
what beneficial effects did MPEP have ?
suppressed audiogenic seizures and rescued deficits in prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle in FRM1 KO mice
what is anxiety ?
normal biological process
- apprehension, tension and fearfulness
what is the difference between normal anxiety and chronic anxiety ?
chronic anxiety is debilitating
how common are anxiety disorders and what are some different types ?
18% of population in USA have anxiety disorders general anxiety disorder social anxiety disorder obsessive compulsive disorder panic disorder