Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Estradiol Modulation Of The Renin-Angiotensin System And The Regulation Of Fear Extinction, Jenna N Parrish, Megan L Bertholomey, Hong W Pang, Robert Charles Speth, Mary M Torregrossa

Faculty Articles

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is more prevalent in women than men, yet much remains to be determined regarding the mechanism underlying this sex difference. Clinical and preclinical studies have shown that low estradiol levels during extinction of fear conditioning in rodents (i.e., cue exposure therapy in humans) leads to poor extinction consolidation and increased fear during extinction recall. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is also associated with stress-related pathologies, and RAS antagonists can enhance extinction consolidation in males. However, less is known about how estradiol and the RAS converge to alter fear extinction consolidation in females. Since estradiol downregulates the RAS, …

Renin-Angiotensin System Gene Expression And Neurodegenerative Diseases., Benjamin Goldstein, Robert Charles Speth, Malav Suchin Trivedi

Faculty Articles

HYPOTHESIS: Single nucleotide polymorphisms and altered gene expression of components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) are associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

INTRODUCTION: Drugs that interact with the RAS have been shown to affect the course of neurodegenerative disease, suggesting that abnormalities in the RAS may contribute to neurodegenerative disease.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies and gene expression data for 14 RAS-related proteins was carried out for five neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, narcolepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis.

RESULTS: No single nucleotide polymorphisms in any of the 14 RAS-related protein genes were significantly associated with …