İlknur Altuntaş, Ph.D., is a molecular biologist. Her main field of experience is oxidative stress, oxidative DNA damage, and neuroscience. Her scientific interests include inflammation and psychiatric relationships, neurodevelopmental disorders, and treatment.
The neurohormone oxytocin (OT), consisting of nine amino acids, is produced in the hypothalamus and secreted from the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. Recent studies show that OT can affect the course of the disease and is promising in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders, due to its therapeutic properties and benefits. Histological and biochemical findings of the studies on vincristine-induced neuropathy, cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity, diabetic neuropathy, rotenone-induced Parkinson’s disease, hypoxia, and stroke, which are reviewed in this chapter, revealed that OT significantly prevented neuronal damage with its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Therefore, the neuroprotective effects of OT and the underlying molecular mechanisms continue to attract the attention of scientists.
Part of the book: Oxytocin and Health
The occurrence of heart electrophysiology dysfunction or/and muscle damage is referred to as cardiotoxicity. The heart weakens and becomes less efficient at pumping and hence circulating blood. Cardiomyopathy can be caused by a variety of factors, including viral infections, diseases such as diabetes, ischemia, hypertension, obesity, radiation therapy, antipsychotic drugs, cytotoxic drugs, most notably chemotherapeutic agents; antitumor antibiotics, monoclonal antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, platinum-based compounds, microtubule inhibitors, vinca alkaloids, antimetabolites, proteasome inhibitors, topoisomerase inhibitors, alkylating agents, corticosteroids. This chapter focuses on the mechanisms of cardiotoxicity, animal models and transgenic methods used in studies, and the effects of therapeutic agents on cardiotoxicity.
Part of the book: Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease
The development of a treatment strategy for neurodegenerative disorders is a serious issue for the healthcare world and a crucial subject of discussion. In the past two decades, a lot of focus has been placed on identifying the pathophysiological processes involved in neuronal death linked to neurodegenerative disorders and developing a variety of treatment options for neuroprotection. Numerous research teams have studied the use of peptides as neuroprotective treatments for different types of neurodegenerative disorders for a long time. The review aims to provide details about the roles of erythropoietin (EPO), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and oxytocin (OXT) in neurodegenerative disorders as well as what cellular and molecular mechanisms they trigger to elicit the neuroprotective action, with a focus on neurodegenerative disorders.
Part of the book: Rare Neurodegenerative Disorders - New Insights [Working title]