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| References
- Testosterone, the brain and psyche |
9.
Goudsmit E, Filers E, Swaab DF. Changes in
vasopressin neurons and fibers in aging and Alzheimer's
disease: reversibility in the rat. Prog.Clin.Biol.Res.
1989;317:1193-208.
Abstract: The neuropeptide vasopressin (VP) is released
from the neurohypophysis into the circulation where
it acts as antidiuretic hormone on the kidney. In
addition, VP is present in nerve cells and fibers
in several areas in the rodent and primate brain where
it acts as a neurotransmitter or neuromodulator. In
the human brain a marked decrease in total cell number
and VP cell number was observed in senescence in the
suprachiasmatic nucleus, the hypothalamic nucleus
regulating circadian rhythms. This degeneration was
even more pronounced in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and
might be related to the disturbances in sleep-wake
cycle and endocrine rhythms which occur in this condition.
No degenerative changes were observed with aging or
in AD in the human hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system
(HNS); on the contrary, total cell numbers remain
unaltered and the VP cells in this system are activated
in senescence, probably in compensation for decreased
sensitivity of the kidney to VP. It is proposed that
this activation may prevent degeneration of the VP
cells in the HNS. The extrahypothalamic VP innervation
in the male rat brain was shown to be diminished in
senescence in a number of areas. This innervation,
which was previously shown to depend on plasma levels
of sex-steroids, could be restored in a number of
brain structures by subcutaneous testosterone administration
to senescent male rats for one month. Reversibility
of changes in VP innervation in the senescent rat
brain through peripheral testosterone supplementation
might open new possibilities for the development of
therapeutic strategies in age- related disorders of
the central nervous system |
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