Redox signaling
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Redox signaling is the concept that free radicals, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and other electronically-activated species act as messengers in biological systems.
History
The concept of electronically-activated species as messengers in both normal metabolism and in pathogenesis goes back to the 19th century. E.g., the biological pigment melanin is a stable free radical. Charles Darwin noted that white blue-eyed cats are usually deaf and that this may be secondary to some defect in neuronal development secondary to the absence of melanin pigment. Similarly, it has been known for centuries that radical-generating transition-series metals such as interocular copper or iron may produce massive vitreous fibrosis (scarring) as they oxidize. We now know that reactive oxygen species likely play a key role in fibrocyte activation.
Similarly, the "Adrenochrome Hypothesis" of Abram Hoffer and Humphry Osmond for the causation of schizophrenia involves the radical oxidation of the neurotransmitter epinephrine to the psychoactive compound adrenochrome.
External links
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
