Unexpected effects discovered in antidepressants

Psychotropic drugs for depression: Unexpected effects discovered in antidepressants

07/13/2013

A concomitant of many common antidepressants was previously considered as a side effect of the drugs. German scientists have now found out that this side effect may even be responsible for one of the main effects. That could mean discovering a new cause for the disease.

Four million suffer from depression
According to the German Depressionshilfe Foundation, every fifth German citizen suffers from depression once in a lifetime. In total, there are currently about four million people in this country who are in need of treatment depression. Scientists at the Department of Psychiatry at the University Hospital Erlangen found out from a test on mice now that an accompanying effect of many common antidepressants could be one of the main effects.

Effect to get in a positive mood
Physicians from the Universities of Duisburg-Essen and Erlangen-Nuremberg have observed that many medicines for depression, incidentally, also reduce the content of the fat-like substance ceramide in nerve cells. „But exactly this effect seems to play a central role in order to get back in a positive mood, "said the head of psychiatry at the University Hospital Erlangen, Johannes Kornhuber.

New cause of the disease discovered?
The researchers found in tests on mice that ceramide inhibits the formation of new nerve cells in a special area of ​​the brain, the hippocampus. According to the information, new nerve cells can form when ceramide is reduced and thus improve the mood again. If these statements can be confirmed, a new cause for the disease would have been discovered. „Our assumption is that there is too much ceramide in depression. "The formation of new nerve cells can also be prevented by stress.

No new drug in sight yet
In a next step, the therapy should be transferred to humans. However, it usually takes several years to get a new drug. The team around Kornhuber and Erich Gulbins (University of Duisburg-Essen) has the results of their investigations in the journal „Nature Medicine“ released in June. (Ad)

Picture: Andrea Damm