Landmark research has been announced. From
animal studies performed by a dream team, including Nobel Laureate,
Paul Greengard, at Rockefellar University in New York City, the data has
arrived. A protein called p11 is deficient in depressed mice
neurons, as well as human ones, and using gene therapy mouse behavior
changed from chronic depression-like behavior to normal behavior. Using
a virus to affect the reward center of the mouse brain, genes carried
into the cells brought happiness back to the rodents. New drug therapy
targets were also discovered in line with the p11 gene target. The
researchers concede that depression has many facets and that this study
does not prove that p11 levels are the only cause.
Drugs to treat p11 may be on the horizon. Ideally they would carry
fewer side effects than the typical regimen of SSRIs like Paxil, Prozac,
among others. Instead, there may be a more sustainable option for
people suffering from depression – especially of the chronic, long-term
variety. This blogger’s hope is that safety studies will lead to viable
gene therapies to be developed. While the risk may be high initially,
animal experiments serve the purpose of preventing any loss or
compromising of human life. The next step for these researchers is
Parkinson’s disease. I personally wish them luck.
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