PMID- 16824691
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20070404
LR  - 20080815
IS  - 0306-9877 (Print)
IS  - 0306-9877 (Linking)
VI  - 68
IP  - 2
DP  - 2007
TI  - Increased central brain-derived neurotrophic factor activity could be a risk 
      factor for substance abuse: Implications for treatment.
PG  - 410-4
AB  - Drug addiction is a common psychiatric disorder with complex genetic, 
      psychological and social contributing factors. While the midbrain dopaminergic 
      system is crucial for acute reward and the initiation of addiction, evidence 
      suggests that there are permanent neuronal changes at the cellular and molecular 
      levels that underlie the addictive process. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor 
      (BDNF), a member of the neurotrophic factor family and the most abundant 
      neurotrophins in the brain, plays a key role in the survival and differentiation 
      of midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons. Evidence from animal and clinical studies 
      suggests that increased central BDNF activity may be implicated in the 
      pathogenesis of drug addiction. For example, BDNF infusion into rat midbrain 
      enhances the rewarding effects of cocaine as measured by the condition place 
      preference paradigm. In contrast, cocaine-conditioned place preference was 
      reduced in heterozygous BDNF knockout mice. In humans, the 66Val allele of the 
      BDNF-gene Val66Met polymorphism is associated with higher BDNF secretion in 
      response to neuronal stimulation compared with the 66Met allele. We found higher 
      BDNF 66Val homozygote frequency in people with drug addiction compared with 
      normal controls. Furthermore, plasma BDNF concentrations of methamphetamine users 
      were significantly higher than controls. The increased central BDNF activity 
      hypothesis of drug addiction may provide new insights for improved therapeutic 
      strategies for the prevention and treatment of drug addiction. Several strategies 
      to decrease central BDNF activity that have potential use in the treatment of 
      drug addiction are proposed.
FAU - Tsai, Shih-Jen
AU  - Tsai SJ
AD  - Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201 Shih-Pai 
      Road, Sec. 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan. sjtsai@vghtpe.gov.tw
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20060707
PL  - United States
TA  - Med Hypotheses
JT  - Medical hypotheses
JID - 7505668
RN  - 0 (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor)
SB  - IM
MH  - Brain/physiology/physiopathology
MH  - Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/*metabolism/*therapeutic use
MH  - Humans
MH  - Risk Factors
MH  - Substance-Related Disorders/*metabolism/therapy
MH  - Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
EDAT- 2006/07/11 09:00
MHDA- 2007/04/05 09:00
CRDT- 2006/07/11 09:00
PHST- 2006/05/16 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2006/05/18 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2006/07/11 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2007/04/05 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2006/07/11 09:00 [entrez]
AID - S0306-9877(06)00387-2 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.mehy.2006.05.035 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Med Hypotheses. 2007;68(2):410-4. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2006.05.035. Epub 2006 Jul 
      7.