Neuroprotective and neurotoxic effects of nicotine

Pharmacopsychiatry
S Ferrea, G Winterer

Abstract

The interest in the action of nicotine in the central nervous system (CNS) has significantly increased during the past 15 years. This is due in part to the growing importance of nicotine addiction and its consequences in terms of life quality and costs for public health systems in industrialized countries and, on the other hand, to the significantly higher prevalence of tobacco consumption in patients with psychiatric disorders. The actual data indicate opposite effects of nicotine in the CNS. Nicotine seems to have, at the same time, positive, neuroprotective as well as negative, neurotoxic effects. This suggests that nicotine's action is complex, probably involving different neuronal circuits influencing each other through complicated interactions. In the present review we summarize the most important results of experiments about nicotinic neuroprotection and neurotoxicity in humans and animals. Initially, we illustrate well known modifications of cholinergic transmission during physiological (normal aging) and pathological neurodegeneration. In the second part of the paper we describe neuroprotective and neurotoxic effects of nicotine also mentioning the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Citations

Jun 2, 2011·Psychopharmacology·Signe VangkildeJennifer T Coull
Apr 6, 2013·Pflügers Archiv : European journal of physiology·Lynda Sharrett-FieldMark A Prendergast
Jan 7, 2010·Current Opinion in Psychiatry·Georg Winterer
Mar 12, 2011·Addiction Biology·Jürgen BrinkmeyerGeorg Winterer
Mar 23, 2015·Child Psychiatry and Human Development·Susanna LeivonenAndre Sourander
Oct 5, 2010·American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric Genetics : the Official Publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics·Georg WintererDan Rujescu
Dec 21, 2013·Toxicology Letters·Hea-Jo YoonSang-Hwan Do
Jul 28, 2013·Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology·Gazi GulbasCemal Ozcan
Jun 7, 2017·Reviews in the Neurosciences·Alireza MajdiSaeed Sadigh-Eteghad
Oct 19, 2017·The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics·S Lauren KyteDavid A Gewirtz
Feb 12, 2014·Alternatives to Laboratory Animals : ATLA·Elizabeth K WoehrlingMichael D Coleman
Sep 19, 2018·Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology : the Official Journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology·Huajun LiangThomas Ernst

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