Abnormal opiate receptor functions in Tourette's syndrome.

Opiates and opioids have been shown to modulate the release of pituitary hormones by acting at the hypothalamic level. Since the identification of the various opiate receptors in the human brain, it has been shown that the endocrine modulation of pituitary release by opiates may be differently affected by the various opiate receptors. Our findings in Tourette's syndrome demonstrate a predominant aberrant mu-opiate receptor modulation of anterior pituitary hormonal release, and suggest that endorphins and enkephalins are the predominant group of opioids involved in the pathophysiology of the disease.