Andrew Winokur, MD, PhD

Professor, Psychiatry, UConn Health (PI)

Research Overview

I have been involved in basic and clinical studies related to thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH). Our basic studies established that TRH plays a broad role in the central nervous system, and we published a review article proposing a novel conceptual formulation for the role of TRH, entitled “The TRH Hypothesis of Homeostatic Regulation”. Based on these preclinical studies, we are now undertaking clinical studies to evaluate the clinical utility of TRH in treating fatigue symptoms in cancer patients.

Education

Yale University BA American Studies
Tufts University School of Medicine, M.D.
University of Pennsylvania, Dept of Pharmacology, Ph.D.

Recent/Selected Publications

Research Gate

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Featured Publications

1. Winokur, A, Utiger, RD, Thyrotropin-releasing hormone: regional distribution in rat brain. SCIENCE 185:265-267, 1974.
2. Winokur, A, Davis, RA, Utiger, RD, Subcellular distribution of thyrotropin-releasing hormone in rat brain and hypothalamus. BRAIN RESEARCH 120:423-432, 1977.
3. Winokur, A, Beckman, AL, Effects of thyrotropin-releasing hormone , norepinephrine and acetylcholine on the activity of neurons in the hypothalamus, septum and cerebral cortex of the rat. BRAIN RESEARCH 150:205-209, 1978.
4. Stanton, TL, Winokur, A, Beckman, AL, Reversal of natural CNS depression by TRH action in the hippocampus. BRAIN RESEARCH 137: 470-475, 1980.
5. Stanton, TL, Winokur, A, Beckman, AL, TRH effects in the CNS: dependence on arousal state. SCIENCE 214: 678-681, 1981.
6. Manaker, S, Winokur, A, Rostene, WH, Rainbow, TC, Autoradiographic localization of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) receptors in rat CNS. JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE 5: 167-174, 1985.
7. Manaker, S, Winokur, A, Rhodes, H, Rainbow, TC, Autoradiographic localization of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) receptors in human spinal cord, NEUROLOGY 35: 328-332, 1985.
8. Manaker, S, Shulman, LH, Winokur, A, Rainbow, TC, Autoradiographic localization of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) receptors in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) spinal cord, NEUROLOGY 35: 1650-1653, 1985.
9. Manaker, S, Eichen, A, Winokur, A, Rhodes, CH, Rainbow, TC, Autoradiographic localization of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) in human brain, NEUROLOGY 36: 641-646, 1986.
10. Lexow, N, Joyce, J, Kim, S, Phillips, J, Casanova, M, Kleinman, J, Winokur, A., Alterations in TRH receptors in temporal lobe of schizophrenics: A quantitative autoradiographic study, SYNAPSE 18: 315-327, 1994.
11. Gary, KA, Sollars, PJ, Lexow, N, Winokur, A, Pickard, GE, Thyrotropin releasing hormone phase shifts circadian rhythms in hamsters, NEUROREPORT 7: 1631-1634, 1996.
12. Gary, KA, Sevarino, KA, Yarbrough, G, Prange, AJ, Jr., Winokur, A, The thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) hypothesis of homeostatic regulation: Implications for TRH-based therapeutics, JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY AND EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTICS 305: 410-416, 2003.
13. Szuba, MP, Amsterdam, JD, Fernando, III, AT, Gary, KA, Whybrow, PA, Winokur, A, Rapid antidepressant response after nocturnal TRH in patients with bipolar I and bipolar II major depression. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY 25: 325-330, 2005.
14. Kamath, J, Yarbrough, GG, Prange, AJ, Jr., Winokur, A, The thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)-immune system homeostatic hypothesis. PHARMACOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS 121: 20-28, 2009.
15. Kamath, J, Feinn, R, Winokur, A, Thyrotropin-releasing hormone as a treatment for cancer-related fatigue: a randomized controlled study. SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER 20: 1745-1753, 2012.

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