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Special Issue "Recent Advances in Neuropharmacology and Brain Physiology"

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A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 1034

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Dear Colleagues,

The main aim of this Special Issue is to highlight recent promising ideas regarding molecular mechanisms of mental disorders, as well as new molecular targets for new classes of psychotropic drugs. Original articles and reviews on the following emerging areas are welcome:

- Molecular aspects of the brain and intestinal microbiotic interaction;
- Relationship of microbiota imbalance with the risk of psychopathologies;
- Treatment of some psychopathologies with prebiotics;
- Molecular mechanisms linking psychopathologies with obesity and general metabolism disorders;
- Molecules of intracellular signal transduction (for example STEP) as potential targets for new psychotropic drugs;
- Neurotrophins in the therapy of neurological and mental disorders;
- Glutamate receptors as potential targets for new antidepressant drugs;
- Molecular mechanism by which some mutations increase the risk of psychopathologies and resistance to psychotropic drugs treatment;
- Pharmacological chaperones in the correction of hereditary mental disorders caused by biomolecule misfolding.

Prof. Alexander V. Kulikov
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2300 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

psychiatric disorders
molecular mechanism of neuropathologies
brain and microbiota interaction
pharmacological chaperones
STEP
neurotrophins

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Relationship between Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Cognitive Decline in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia

Matea Nikolac Perkovic

Gordana Nedic Erjavec

and

Biomolecules 2023, 13(3), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13030570 - 21 Mar 2023

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Abstract

In the last decade, increasing evidence has emerged linking alterations in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression with the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Because of the important role of BDNF in cognition and its association with AD pathogenesis, the aim of this study was to evaluate the potential difference in plasma BDNF concentrations between subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; N = 209) and AD patients (N = 295) and to determine the possible association between BDNF plasma levels and the degree of cognitive decline in these individuals. The results showed a significantly higher (p < 0.001) concentration of plasma BDNF in subjects with AD (1.16; 0.13–21.34) compared with individuals with MCI (0.68; 0.02–19.14). The results of the present study additionally indicated a negative correlation between cognitive functions and BDNF plasma concentrations, suggesting higher BDNF levels in subjects with more pronounced cognitive decline. The correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between BDNF plasma levels and both Mini-Mental State Examination (p < 0.001) and Clock Drawing test (p < 0.001) scores. In conclusion, the results of our study point towards elevated plasma BDNF levels in AD patients compared with MCI subjects, which may be due to the body’s attempt to counteract the early and middle stages of neurodegeneration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Neuropharmacology and Brain Physiology)

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Open AccessArticle

Low-Affinity/High-Selectivity Dopamine Transport Inhibition Sufficient to Rescue Cognitive Functions in the Aging Rat

Biomolecules 2023, 13(3), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13030467 - 03 Mar 2023

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Abstract

The worldwide increase in cognitive decline, both in aging and with psychiatric disorders, warrants a search for pharmacological treatment. Although dopaminergic treatment approaches represent a major step forward, current dopamine transporter (DAT) inhibitors are not sufficiently specific as they also target other transporters and receptors, thus showing unwanted side effects. Herein, we describe an enantiomerically pure, highly specific DAT inhibitor, S-CE-123, synthetized in our laboratory. Following binding studies to DAT, NET and SERT, GPCR and kinome screening, pharmacokinetics and a basic neurotoxic screen, S-CE-123 was tested for its potential to enhance and/or rescue cognitive functions in young and in aged rats in the non-invasive reward-motivated paradigm of a hole-board test for spatial learning. In addition, an open field study with young rats was carried out. We demonstrated that S-CE-123 is a low-affinity but highly selective dopamine reuptake inhibitor with good bioavailability. S-CE-123 did not induce hyperlocomotion or anxiogenic or stereotypic behaviour in young rats. Our compound improved the performance of aged but not young rats in a reward-motivated task. The well-described impairment of the dopaminergic system in aging may underlie the age-specific effect. We propose S-CE-123 as a possible candidate for developing a tentative therapeutic strategy for age-related cognitive decline and cognitive dysfunction in psychiatric disorders. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Neuropharmacology and Brain Physiology)

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Special Issue "Recent Advances in Neuropharmacology and Brain Physiology"

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