Brain Peptides for the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders.

The realization of the importance of growth factors in adult CNS led to several studies investigating their roles in neuropsychiatric disorders. Based on the observations that chronic stress decreases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and antidepressant treatments reverse BDNF to normal levels, "neurotrophic hypothesis of depression" was proposed. Subsequent studies found that several other growth factors, including fibroblast growth factor (FGF), vascular endothelial growth factor, nerve growth factor were also decreased by chronic stress. Growth factors promote stem cell survival, angiogenesis and neurogenesis in addition to having anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects, all of which make them potential drug candidates as neuroprotective or neurorestorative agents. Indeed, certain peptides have consistently been shown to improve stroke outcome in experimental models of cerebral ischemia. Recent developments in nanotechnology appear promising in overcoming the blood-brain barrier and in delivering sufficient amounts of these large peptides to the brain after systemic administration. In addition to the translational potential resulting from application of nanotechnical approaches for delivering these large peptide growth factors, recent success obtained with small molecule and peptide antagonists of calcitonin gene-related peptide has created renewed enthusiasm to elucidate the role of neuropeptides in migraine headache, one of the most common health problems in the world. In this review, we will first focus on the role of FGF2 in mood disorders as well as in ischemic stroke. We will also introduce the nanomedicines developed to efficiently deliver FGF2 to the brain. In the last section, we will explore roles of the neuropeptides in migraine and its acute and prophylactic treatment. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.