Brain and CSF somatostatin concentrations in patients with psychiatric or neurological illness. An overview.

Somatostatin was originally isolated as a 14-amino-acid peptide from the ovine hypothalamus. The peptide has a widespread regional distribution within the central and peripheral nervous systems, as well as in peripheral organs. Preservation of the chemical structure over a wide range of vertebral species indicates important functional roles of the peptide. Recent results about the role of somatostatin and related peptides in different psychiatric (depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease) and neurological (Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease) diseases, and the effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis are summarized. Also, the influence of some psychotropic drugs (halo-peridol, carbamazepine) on somatostatin levels in cerebrospinal fluid is discussed.