Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

In Huntington's disease (HD), reduction in striatal GABA is one of the most striking abnormalities and alterations in benzodiazepine receptors, which are allosterically linked to the GABAA receptor, have also been reported. Diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI), recently isolated from rat and human brain, has been proposed as an endogenous ligand at the benzodiazepine receptor. The content of DBI-like immunoreactivity(51-70) (DBI-IR(51-70), has therefore been compared in control postmortem human brains and in HD brains (matched for age, sex and post-mortem delay), using a specific radioimmunoassay. DBI-IR(51-70) was more than 1.5-fold increased in the putamen, caudate, globus pallidus and nucleus accumbens of HD brains compared to the control group (P less than 0.001). Gel filtration chromatography showed similar elution profiles of the peptide in both control and HD extracts, thus providing no evidence for a change in the nature of the peptide itself.

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Neurol Sci

Publication Date

12/1988

Volume

88

Pages

177 - 184

Keywords

Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Brain, Diazepam Binding Inhibitor, Female, Humans, Huntington Disease, Male, Middle Aged, Neuropeptides, Radioimmunoassay, Receptors, GABA-A