How does excitotoxicity cause cell death?

In excitotoxicity, nerve cells suffer damage or death when the levels of otherwise necessary and safe neurotransmitters such as glutamate, α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA), or N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) become pathologically high resulting in excessive stimulation of receptors.

What is the most common cause of excitotoxicity?

Excitotoxicity is the pathological process for neuronal killing. Glutamate-induced excitotoxicity is produced by excessive glutamate. It leads to neuronal injury by inducing an influx of calcium, which causes neuronal injury through the stimulation of Ca2+-dependent enzymes.

What are the symptoms of excitotoxicity?

Low levels are associated with agitation, memory loss, sleeplessness, low energy, insufficient adrenal function and depression. High glutamate levels are associated with panic attacks, anxiety, excess adrenal function and again, depression. Extremely high levels can cause cells in the brain to degenerate.

What is neuronal excitotoxicity?

Excitotoxicity is a phenomenon that describes the toxic actions of excitatory neurotransmitters, primarily glutamate, where the exacerbated or prolonged activation of glutamate receptors starts a cascade of neurotoxicity that ultimately leads to the loss of neuronal function and cell death.

How is excitotoxicity related to the death of nerve cells?

Jaiswal et al ., 2009. Excitotoxicity is the pathological process by which nerve cells are damaged or killed by excessive stimulation by neurotransmitters such as glutamate and similar substances.

How is excitotoxicity related to glutamate overactivation?

Excitotoxicity refers to the overactivation of glutamate receptors as a result of increased release and/or decreased uptake of excitatory amino acid transmitters, primarily glutamate.

Are there any diseases that are caused by excitotoxicity?

Many neurodegenerative diseases, including epilepsy, have implicated excitotoxicity in their pathogenesis. Studies characterizing excitotoxic mechanisms in these diseases have subsequently focused on studying aspects of glutamate transporters and/or receptors.

How is excitotoxicity a form of organized crime?

In this review, we explore the current views on the neurobiological and clinical aspects of excitotoxicity, presenting this process as a complex organized crime at the cellular level. Excitotoxicity is a form of neuronal death caused by hyperactivity of excitatory amino acids –mainly Glutamate (Glu)-in the mammal Central Nervous System (CNS) [ 1 ].