The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between plasma glutamate, glutamine and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in female patients with major depression treated with S-citalopram or fluoxetine. The patients were assigned into S-citalopram (10 mg/day) or fluoxetine (20 mg/day) groups (n = 15 per group). The Hamilton and Beck Depression Inventory Scales were performed on all study participants, and blood samples were collected. The same procedures were repeated 10 days following the onset of therapy. Fifteen female healthy volunteers were also included in the study for the evaluation of normal plasma levels. The plasma GABA levels of the healthy volunteers were higher whereas those for glutamate and glutamine were lower than the day zero samples of the patients. An increase in plasma GABA levels and a decrease in glutamate and glutamine levels were observed on the 10th day of treatment. No difference was detected between the drug treatments. Our findings may suggest that GABA, glutamate and glutamine play a role in depression and that plasma GABA may be used as a biomarker for treatment control.

The change in plasma GABA, glutamine and glutamate levels in fluoxetine- or S-citalopram-treated female patients with major depression

The neuroprotective potential of cannabinoids has been examined in rats with striatal lesions caused by 3-nitropropionic acic (3NP), an inhibitor of mitochondrial complex II. We used the CB1 agonist arachidonyl-2-chloroethylamide (ACEA), the CB2 agonist HU-308, and cannabidiol (CBD), an antioxidant phytocannabinoid with negligible affinity for cannabinoid receptors. The administration of 3NP reduced GABA contents and also mRNA levels for several markers of striatal GABAergic projection neurons, including proenkephalin (PENK), substance P (SP) and neuronal-specific enolase (NSE). We also found reductions in mRNA levels for superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD-1) and -2 (SOD-2), which indicated that 3NP reduced the endogenous antioxidant defences. The administration of CBD, but not ACEA or HU-308, completely reversed 3NP-induced reductions in GABA contents and mRNA levels for SP, NSE and SOD-2, and partially attenuated those found in SOD-1 and PENK. This indicates that CBD is neuroprotective but acted preferentially on striatal neurons that project to the substantia nigra. The effects of CBD were not reversed by the CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716. The same happened with the TRPV1 receptor antagonist capsazepine, in concordance with the observation that capsaicin, a TRPV1 receptor agonist, failed to reproduce the CBD effects. The effects of CBD were also independent of adenosine signalling as they were not attenuated by the adenosine A2A receptor antagonist MSX-3. In summary, this study demonstrates that CBD provides neuroprotection against 3NP-induced striatal damage, which may be relevant for Huntington's disease, a disorder characterized by the preferential loss of striatal projection neurons. This capability seems to be based exclusively on the antioxidant properties of CBD.

Cannabidiol reduced the striatal atrophy caused 3‐nitropropionic acid in vivo by mechanisms independent of the activation of cannabinoid, vanilloid TRPV1 and adenosine A2A receptors

Effects of rimonabant, a selective cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist, in a rat model of Parkinson's disease

Exposure to novelty and forced swimming evoke stressor-dependent changes in extracellular GABA in the rat hippocampus.

There is compelling evidence that excessive GABA-mediated inhibition may underlie the abnormal electrical activity, initiated in the thalamus, associated with epileptic absence seizures. In particular, the GABAB receptor subtype seems to play a critical role, because its antagonists are potent inhibitors of absence seizures, whereas its agonists exacerbate seizure activity. Using a validated rat model of absence epilepsy, we have previously found no evidence of abnormal GABAB receptor density or affinity in thalamic tissue. In the present study, we have used in vivo microdialysis to monitor changes in levels of extracellular GABA and other amino acids in this brain region. We have shown that basal extracellular levels of GABA and, to a lesser extent, taurine are increased when compared with values in nonepileptic controls. However, modifying GABAergic transmission with the GABAB agonist (-)-baclofen (2 mg/kg i.p.), the GABAB antagonist CGP-35348 (200 mg/kg i.p.), or the GABA uptake inhibitor tiagabine (100 microM) did not produce any further alteration in extracellular GABA levels, despite the ability of these compounds to increase (baclofen and tiagabine) or decrease (CGP-35348) seizure activity. These findings suggest that the increased basal GABA levels observed in this animal model are not simply a consequence of seizure activity but may contribute to the initiation of absence seizures.

Extracellular GABA in the ventrolateral thalamus of rats exhibiting spontaneous absence epilepsy: a microdialysis study.

Measurement of GABA in rat brain microdialysates using o-phthaldialdehyde-sulphite derivatization and high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

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Measurement of GABA in rat brain microdialysates using o-phthaldialdehyde-sulphite derivatization and high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.