Role of Asymmetric Dimethylarginine in The Etiopathogenesis of Psychiatric Disorders: Review

Asymmetric dimethylarginine has been a post-translational modified form of the aminoasid arginine. Being a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase enzyme, makes asymmetric dimethylarginine important. Findings of previous studies and observations show that the accumulation of asymmetric dimethylarginine may have an important role for the regulation of signal transduction in nitric oxide system, and this accumulation may be a new mechanism for the regulation of nitric oxide production in the brain. Studies have suggested that increased asymmetric dimethylarginine levels could lead to a decrease in the level of nitric oxide production by inhibiting nitric oxide synthase enzyme. Therefore asymmetric dimethylarginine may be important in the pathophysiology of various psychiatric disorders. In this review, findings of research studies on asymmetric dimethylarginine and nitric oxide conducted with psychiatric patients so far and possible role of these molecules in the etiopathogenesis of various psychiatric disorders were discussed. [Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry 2014; 6(4.000): 355-362