Scientists from Kings College, London believe that they have discovered the process behind how antidepressants work, meaning that researchers can now develop better and more efficient drugs to combat depression. Earlier studies have shown that depressed people show a reduction in the development of new brain cells, which can contribute to the symptoms of depression, low mood or impaired memory. It was also known that antidepressants facilitate the production of new brain cells, but scientists did not know how. This new study has revealed that antidepressants regulate a key protein involved in the stress response.
The lead author of the study Christoph Anacker said:
For the first time in a clinically relevant model, we were able to show that antidepressants produce more stem cells and also accelerate their development into adult brain cells. Additionally, we demonstrated for the first time that stress hormones, which are generally very high in depressed patients, show the opposite effect.
Following on from this study it is hoped that researchers will be able to use the novel stem cell system to model psychiatric illnesses in the laboratory, test new components, and develop more effective and targeted antidepressant drugs in the future. This is important as depression is expected to be the second leading burden of disease worldwide by 2020.
