Neurological Disorders Flashcards
What are COMT inhibitors
A class of drug which inhibits the action of COMT, the enzyme involved in the degradation of levodopa.
They can help control symptoms between doses of L-DOPA and reduce the amount of L-DOPA needed.
What are anticholinergics
a class of drug which block the action of acetylcholine
True or false: neurons in the brain secrete their own serotonin.
true
What is the cheng-prusoff equation used for
The IC50 value is converted to an absolute inhibition constant Ki using the Cheng-Prusoff equation
Explain the steps of autophagy
- Cytosolic material is sequestered by an expanding membrane sac, the phagophore,
- Formation of a double-membrane vesicle, an autophagosome
- The outer membrane of the autophagosome subsequently fuses with a lysosome,
- Inner single membrane of the autophagosome exposed to lysosomal hydrolases
- The cargo-containing membrane compartment is then lysed
- Contents are degraded
What is pKi
The negative log of the Ki value (inhibition constant)
symptoms of alzheimer’s
- loss of memory, cognitive ability, communication
- changes in mood and personality
- forgetting recent events, unable to store new information in the temporal lobe
What receptor activation inhibits noradrenaline release
presynaptic adrenergic receptors
where specifically is dopamine most abundant
corpus striatum
what is siRNA
Small interfering RNA, is the most commonly used RNA interference tool for silencing protein coding genes short-term; it induces genetic knock-down, of a variety of cell lines.
What is an IC50
The concentration of competing ligand which displaces 50% of the specific binding of the radioligand
What are the two strands of siRNA
anti-sense guide strand, and a sense strand
True or false: serotonin can cross the blood brain barrier
false
Explain the steps of apoptosis- extrinsic pathways
- Fas ligand binds to death receptors
- Protein recruitment and from death-inducing signalling complex (DISC)
- Activates caspase-8 initiator
- Activates caspase 3/7 executioner
what is the equation for radioligand equilibrium
kon = koff
What are MAO inhibitors
a class of drug which inhibit the activity of one, or both monoamine oxidases; both MAOs deaminate the neurotransmitter dopamine
What is L-DOPA
An anabolite for dopamine.
It can can cross the blood brain barrier and forms dopamine in the presence of DOPA decarboxylase
True or false: Deep brain stimulation destroys small sections of the patient brain, so is not reversible
False
why is L-DOPA used to treat parkinson’s
Dopmaine is hydrophilic so cant cross BBB
L-DOPA is take peripherally and can then cross the BBB where is it converted to dopamine
describe the nigrostriatal pathway
key dopamine pathway
cell body in the substantia nigra, moves up to corpus striatum
Involved in the production of movement, as part of the basal ganglia motor loop
What effect des Gs have
stimulate adenylyl cyclase to produce cAMP, increasing intracellular calcium among other cAMP mediated processes.
What is a radioligand binding assay
used to characterize the binding of a drug to its target receptor.
They can provide information on both the affinity and mode of interaction of the drug with its receptor.
true or false: Ki is an absolute value
true
Describe the tuberohypophyseal pathway
Dopamine release in this pathway is to inhibit prolactin release
How do Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors work
increase the extracellular level of serotonin available for binding to the post-synaptic receptor
What are present to reduce likelihood of proteopathy
Chaperones- by avoiding the conformational change to beta-sheet structure.
symptoms of huntington’s
cognitive disorders - impulse control, task organisation. flexibilty, learning
movement disorder - involuntary jerking. twitching movements, rigidity, speech
How is dopamine broken down
broken down by homovanillic acid via DOPAC and 3MT
What is deep brain stimulation
A neurostimulator is implanted into the patient’s brain- subthalamic nucleus or Globus pallidus interna.
When switched on, the internal electrodes deliver high frequency stimulation to the targeted area, changing electrical signals which cause symptoms of diseases such as Parkinson’s.
What are anticholinergics used for
help to block involuntary muscle movements associated with disease, or in surgery to maintain body functions under anaesthetic