Diseases that are Glutamate Mediated

Although neurodegenerative diseases have differing genetic and environmental etiologies and different brain regions affected, it appears that all of these diseases share the same mechanisms leading to cell death: glutamate excitotoxicity, inflammatory pathways, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress.

A hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases is the disruption of normal glutamate metabolism. A decrease in the expression of sodium-dependent glutamate transporters and a concomitant rise in extracellular levels of neurotoxic glutamate may contribute to chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Huntington’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis. In addition, neuropathic pain, schizophrenia, noise-induced hearing loss, glaucomatous retinal neurodegeneration, epilepsy, alcoholism, brain tumors, and disorders of learning and memory have been linked to glutamate abnormalities.