AKA: GABA, Gamma-aminobutyric acid, γ-Aminobutyric Acid
– Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a chemical that is made in the brain.
– GABA that is made naturally in the brain has anti-seizure and anti-anxiety effects.
– GABA inhibits nerve transmission in the brain, calming nervous activity.
– Gamma-Amino Butyric acid (GABA) is an amino acid which acts as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system.
– GABA is made in brain cells from glutamate, and functions as an inhibitory neurotransmitter – meaning that it blocks nerve impulses.
Lower levels:
– Low levels in plasma are characteristic of one subset of people with depression. The neurodegenerative condition Huntington’s disease, also manifests as lowered levels of GABA as neuron loss proceeds.
– Vitamin B6 deficiency impairs GABA formation, offering one option to help assist people with inadequate GABA production.
– In animal models of seizure, lysine has dose-dependent anticonvulsant effects that appear to be due to GABA receptor modulation.
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Higher levels:
– May reflect decreased ability to convert to succinate for use in the Krebs (citric acid) cycle for energy generation. Cofactors here are α-KG and vitamin B6.
– Gamma-hydroxybutyric aciduria is characteristic of genetic variants with succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency. The inevitable retardation of language development in children with this polymorphism is sometimes accompanied by other autistic features. This disorder constitutes one of potential genetic origins of autism.
– Elevated GABA levels, whether primary to illness or compensatory to another process, may be associated with dysfunctional GABAergic neurotransmission in chronic schizophrenia. [L]
References:
– https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2942977/
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