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Prozac improves learning and memory in fatal brain disease
October 07, 2005Howard Florey Institute scientists in Melbourne have found that fluoxetine (commonly marketed as Prozac®) not only improves depression in Huntington's disease, but also improves learning and memory.
Dr Anthony Hannan and his team also found that fluoxetine restores the brain's process of neurogenesis-the birth of new neurons-to normal levels, which helps delay the onset of the inherited fatal disease.
People with Huntington's disease have progressive motor problems, cognitive deficits (dementia) and psychiatric symptoms (the most common is depression) that usually start to appear in mid-life. There is no cure and death usually results within 10 to 20 years of symptom onset, or faster in the childhood-onset form of the disease. The disease is caused by a mutation in a single gene and when this defective gene is passed from parent to child, 50 percent of the offspring will inherit the disorder, which can be detected by genetic testing.
Dr Hannan said this discovery was an important step in developing effective treatments to delay the onset of symptoms and the progression of Huntington's disease.
"Now that we've found fluoxetine improves memory problems, or dementia, as well as depression in mice with Huntington's disease, further research can be conducted to see if the drug has the same benefits in humans with the disease," Dr Hannan said.
"We have started discussing arrangements with colleagues to begin human trials to see if fluoxetine, and related drugs, are also effective treatments in people with the disease."
"Fluoxetine's ability to promote the birth of new neurons in the normal and Huntington's brain provides new insight into the biological basis of depression, as well as other brain disorders involving dementia. It also suggests new applications for these antidepressant drugs," he said.
During the study, mice with the Huntington's gene and control mice were treated daily with either fluoxetine or saline. The mice were given cognitive tests to perform to determine the behavioural effects of the drug.
The scientists expected fluoxetine to improve the depressive-like symptoms, which they have shown for the first time in mice with Huntington's disease, but were surprised that it also improved cognitive symptoms.
Dr Hannan's findings will soon be published in the European Journal of Neuroscience.
Dr Hannan is internationally recognised for his research that proves mental and physical exercise can delay the onset of some degenerative brain disorders, including Huntington's disease. Brain disorders that were previously thought to be 100 percent genetic can actually be delayed, which brings great hope to sufferers of Huntington's disease.
Recent studies by Dr Hannan's group have also shown that mice with Huntington's disease actually display cognitive problems before the disease's typical movement problems appear. These results were recently been published in the Journal of Neuroscience. He has also shown that in Huntington's diseased brains, information processing between neurons is disrupted, but the neurons do not die, which means the brain may respond to new anti-dementia drugs that can restore memory.
Dr Hannan has just returned from Austria where he gave a special lecture on these findings and was presented with the Young Scientist Lecturer Award from the International Society of Neurochemistry. He also recently won two Australian Museum Eureka Prizes; the British Council Eureka Prize for Inspiring Science, as well as the inaugural Eureka People's Choice Award.
Research Australia
Dr Hannan said this discovery was an important step in developing effective treatments to delay the onset of symptoms and the progression of Huntington's disease.
"Now that we've found fluoxetine improves memory problems, or dementia, as well as depression in mice with Huntington's disease, further research can be conducted to see if the drug has the same benefits in humans with the disease," Dr Hannan said.
"We have started discussing arrangements with colleagues to begin human trials to see if fluoxetine, and related drugs, are also effective treatments in people with the disease."
"Fluoxetine's ability to promote the birth of new neurons in the normal and Huntington's brain provides new insight into the biological basis of depression, as well as other brain disorders involving dementia. It also suggests new applications for these antidepressant drugs," he said.
During the study, mice with the Huntington's gene and control mice were treated daily with either fluoxetine or saline. The mice were given cognitive tests to perform to determine the behavioural effects of the drug.
The scientists expected fluoxetine to improve the depressive-like symptoms, which they have shown for the first time in mice with Huntington's disease, but were surprised that it also improved cognitive symptoms.
Dr Hannan's findings will soon be published in the European Journal of Neuroscience.
Dr Hannan is internationally recognised for his research that proves mental and physical exercise can delay the onset of some degenerative brain disorders, including Huntington's disease. Brain disorders that were previously thought to be 100 percent genetic can actually be delayed, which brings great hope to sufferers of Huntington's disease.
Recent studies by Dr Hannan's group have also shown that mice with Huntington's disease actually display cognitive problems before the disease's typical movement problems appear. These results were recently been published in the Journal of Neuroscience. He has also shown that in Huntington's diseased brains, information processing between neurons is disrupted, but the neurons do not die, which means the brain may respond to new anti-dementia drugs that can restore memory.
Dr Hannan has just returned from Austria where he gave a special lecture on these findings and was presented with the Young Scientist Lecturer Award from the International Society of Neurochemistry. He also recently won two Australian Museum Eureka Prizes; the British Council Eureka Prize for Inspiring Science, as well as the inaugural Eureka People's Choice Award.
Research Australia
Prozac Current Events and Prozac News RSSHunting for the Prozac Gene
Prozac works wonders for some depressed people, but not for others. In some cases, patients derive little benefit and at worst, it can lead to bizarre hallucinations and fits of rage.
Study reveals an increase in long-term antidepressant drug use
A dramatic rise in antidepressant prescriptions issued by GPs has been caused by a year on year increase in the number of people taking antidepressant drugs on a long-term basis, according to researchers from the University of Southampton.
New mouse model of depression/anxiety enhances understanding of antidepressant drugs
A recent study finds that the antidepressant effects of drugs like Prozac involve both neurogenesis-dependent and -independent mechanisms, a finding that may lead to development of better treatments for depression and anxiety.
Not Just for Depression Anymore
Prozac is regularly prescribed to ease the emotional pain of patients who are being treated for cancer. But can this common anti-depressant help to fight cancer itself?
Potential new targets for antidepressant medications
The news about antidepressant medications over the past several years has been mixed. The bad news from large multicenter studies such as STAR*D is that current antidepressant medications are effective, but not as effective as one might hope. Thus, there is a significant need for new treatment mechanisms for depression.
Antidepressants may impair driving ability, new research finds
People taking prescription antidepressants appear to drive worse than people who aren't taking such drugs, and depressed people on antidepressants have even more trouble concentrating and reacting behind the wheel.
Antidepressants enhance neuronal plasticity in the visual system
In the April 18 issue of Science, scientists from the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy and the Neuroscience Centre at the University of Helsinki, Finland, provide new information about the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs.
Treating SSRI-Resistant Depression
When your antidepressant medication does not work, should you switch to a different medication from the same class or should you try an antidepressant medication that has a different mechanism of action? This is the question asked by researchers in a new report scheduled for publication in Biological Psychiatry on April 1st.
Comparison of venlafaxine and SSRIs in the treatment of depression
There are numerous antidepressant medications currently on the market, but sadly, many patients still experience the debilitating symptoms of depression even with treatment.
As depression symptoms improve with antidepressants, hopelessness can linger
People taking medication for depression typically see a lot of improvements in their symptoms during the first few months, but lagging behind other areas is a sense of hopefulness, according to new research from the University of Michigan Health System.
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