Publications by authors named "J E Pintar"

Introduction: Health information systems (HISs) should provide accessible and high-quality information to patients. However, the challenge lies in understanding patients' trust preferences for health information. This study explores how different information sources (e.

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Article Synopsis
  • Oxa-iboga compounds are newly developed analogs of ibogaine, designed to retain therapeutic benefits while eliminating cardiac safety risks.
  • These compounds demonstrate effectiveness in reducing opioid intake and withdrawal symptoms in animal models, outperforming traditional treatments.
  • Oxa-noribogaine specifically acts as a kappa opioid receptor agonist, offering a unique approach to treating substance use disorders with potential for long-lasting effects.
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T cells have emerged as sex-dependent orchestrators of pain chronification but the sexually dimorphic mechanisms by which T cells control pain sensitivity is not resolved. Here, we demonstrate an influence of regulatory T cells (Tregs) on pain processing that is distinct from their canonical functions of immune regulation and tissue repair. Specifically, meningeal Tregs (mTregs) express the endogenous opioid, enkephalin, and mTreg-derived enkephalin exerts an antinociceptive action through a presynaptic opioid receptor signaling mechanism that is dispensable for immunosuppression.

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Background: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as fluoxetine have a limited treatment efficacy. The mechanism by which some patients respond to fluoxetine while others do not remains poorly understood, limiting treatment effectiveness. We have found the opioid system to be involved in the responsiveness to fluoxetine treatment in a mouse model for anxiety- and depressive-like behavior.

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ProSAAS is a neuroendocrine protein that is cleaved by neuropeptide-processing enzymes into more than a dozen products including the bigLEN and PEN peptides, which bind and activate the receptors GPR171 and GPR83, respectively. Previous studies have suggested that proSAAS-derived peptides are involved in physiological functions that include body weight regulation, circadian rhythms and anxiety-like behavior. In the present study, we find that proSAAS knockout mice display robust anxiety-like behaviors in the open field, light-dark emergence and elevated zero maze tests.

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