Ulcer drug for depression?
Thursday June 1st, 2017
A medicine prescribed for gastric ulcers may benefit people with depression via its effect on a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, researchers reported last night.
This protein is important in the nervous system as it supports existing neurons and encourages new ones to grow. Previous studies have found that this protein may be involved in the reported anti-depressant-like effects of teprenone, a widely-used anti-ulcer drug.
Teprenone - chemical name geranylgeranylacetone - has been reported to have protective effects in the central nervous system, perhaps because it triggers the production of heat shock proteins in the hippocampus.
Heat shock proteins help other proteins to stabilise or refold, and are associated with various behavioural disorders, but their exact role in depression remains unclear.
Dr Naoya Hashikawa and colleagues at Okayama University, Japan, looked at the effects of teprenone on mice with depression-like behaviour. They found that the drug increased expression of heat shock protein 105 in the hippocampus of the mice, and reversed depression-like behaviour and the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor.
The team add in the open-access journal Science Advances today (31 May) that the results show that inhibiting brain-derived neurotrophic factor receptors "prevented teprenone's anti-depressant-like effects".
The team also examined information on teprenone from the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System.
Reports from doctors and patients suggested that teprenone "helped alleviate drug-induced depression in some patients". They write: "Taken together, the findings indicate that teprenone's heat shock protein-inducing properties may prove to be a novel therapeutic strategy for depression."
Hashikawa, N. et al. HSP105 prevents depression-like behavior by increasing hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in mice. Science Advances 31 May 2017 [abstract]
Tags: Asia | Gastroenterology | Mental Health | Pharmaceuticals
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