Physiology of beta-endorphins. A close-up view and a review of the literature
Title
Physiology of beta-endorphins. A close-up view and a review of the literature
Creator
Dalayeun JF; Nores JM; Bergal S
Identifier
Publisher
Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
Date
1993
Subject
Humans; Biomarkers of Pain; Pain/physiopathology; Biomarkers Reference List; Behavior/physiology; beta-Endorphin/physiology; Ion Channels/physiology; Neurotransmitter Agents
Description
When an endogenous morphine, beta-endorphin was discovered ten years ago, the fact that this morphine is present in the brain and many other tissues suggested to neurobiologists that these peptide opiates play a role which goes beyond that of a simple modulator of the perception of pain. beta-endorphin is a neurohormone which is secreted by the pituitary gland and reaches all tissues present in the body by diffusion. Many laboratories have investigated variations in serum levels of beta-endorphin under widely varying physiological or pathological conditions. Many references to these studies in the literature have thus demonstrated that beta-endorphins play a role in certain behavioural patterns (stress, alcoholism), in obesity, diabetes and psychiatric diseases. In fact, the activity of beta-endorphins would appear to have an interesting role to play and are a promising feature in the treatment of cerebral aging; in this field, beta-endorphins act not only as neuroregulators of other neurotransmitting substances but also, via calcium channels, exert an effect on the walls of cerebral arterioles. In situ, the role of beta-endorphins at the ionic channel level has been studied using the patch-clamp technique. In 1991, E Neher and B Sakmann received the Nobel Medicine and Physiology Prize for this work. beta-endorphin, which may be the "missing link" between the neuron and the wall of the arteriole, must be considered as being a fundamental neurotransmitter in the same way as well-known substances such as noradrenaline, acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine and the GABAergic system are also neurotransmitters.
1993
Rights
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Type
Journal Article
Citation List Month
Backlog
URL Address
Citation
Dalayeun JF; Nores JM; Bergal S, “Physiology of beta-endorphins. A close-up view and a review of the literature,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed April 24, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/12286.