From Molecules to Mind: Role of Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis in CNS Diseases and Consequences of Dysregulated Peripheral Feedback
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Presented By
Presented by Biochemical Pharmacology Discussion Group and the American Chemical Society's New York Section
Organizers: Irina Antonijevic, Lundbeck Research USA; David R. Riddell, Wyeth Discovery Neuroscience
Disruption of signaling processes in the central nervous system results in a number of disorders, from depression to Alzheimer's disease. Join us for From Molecules to Mind, a one-day event sponsored by the Academy's Biochemical Pharmacology Discussion Group investigating how neurological and metabolic diseases are related to stress response and mood. We will look at the hypothalamic-pituitary "stress" axis (HPA) and its role in CNS diseases, as well as the effect of dysregulated peripheral feedback.
Specific topics to be covered include the effect of signal disruption on the development of obesity; the causal effects of immune system activation on depression; the role of HPA axis dysfunction in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease; and more.
The BPDG at the New York Academy of Sciences represents a diverse group of scientists and others with an interest in biochemistry, molecular biology, biomedical research, and related areas. Members are from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and university and medical center research facilities across the Eastern United States. The group also serves as the Biochemical Topical Group for the American Chemical Society's New York Section. The purpose of the BPDG is to bring together diverse institutions and communities, industrial and academic, to share new and relevant information at the frontiers of research and development.
Program
8:00– 8:55
Arrivals/Registration/Coffee
8:55– 9:00
Introduction
Irina Antonijevic, Lundbeck Research USA, Paramus, NJ
9:00–10:00
Glucocorticoids, Chronic Stress, and Obesity
Mary F. Dallman, Department of Physiology, University of California San Francisco, CA
10.00–11.00
Regulation of the HPA Axis by MCH Peptide: Control of Feeding and Responses to Stress
Carlos Forray, Target Discovery and Assessment, Lundbeck Research USA, Paramus, NJ
11:00–11:30
Morning Break
11:30–12:30
Neuropeptides and the Control of Anxiety Behavior
Zul Merali, Institute of Mental Health Research and Department of Psychiatry, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
12:30–1:30
Lunch
1:30–2:30
Obesity-Related Sleepiness and Fatigue: The Role of the Stress System and Cytokines
Alexandros Vgontzas, Sleep Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychiatry, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
2:30–3:30
Stress, Glucocorticoids and the Hippocampus
Sonia Lupien, McGill Centre for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
3:30–4:00
Afternoon Break
4:00–5:00
Glucocorticoids Increase Amyloid-Beta and Tau Pathology in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease
Frank M. LaFerla, Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA
5:00–5:05
Closing Remarks
David Riddell, Wyeth Discovery Neuroscience, Princeton, NJ
Abstracts
Chronic and Remembered Stressors: Glucocorticoids, and Obesity
Mary F. Dallman, MD, University of California San Francisco
Stressors activate many sites in brain, including motor components of the hypothalamo-pitutitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. HPA activity, driven by hypothalamic corticotropin