Worm study shows antidepressant may lengthen life

This article from Reuters looks promising for the millions who are suffering from cases of Depression worldwide.

But it is still a big but like the other experimental drugs. This is certainly worth the wait if ever it will be successful in the future.

Anyway, read on...


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An antidepressant may help worms live longer by tricking the brain into thinking the body is starving, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.

The drug, called mianserin, extended the life span of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans by about 30 percent, the researchers reported in the journal Nature. They hope to find out if the same mechanism can help people live longer.

Three other compounds, including another antidepressant, have similar effects, said Michael Petrascheck of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. But the life-extending benefits come at a cost.

"Weight gain and increased appetite seems to be one of the side effects. It is one of the reasons these are not such popular antidepressants," Petrascheck said in a telephone interview.

Many studies have shown that slightly starving certain animals -- reducing how much they eat by about 30 percent -- can cause them to live longer.

It is not entirely clear if this occurs in humans, but researchers are keen to duplicate the beneficial effects of calorie restriction without the misery of going hungry.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher Linda Buck and colleagues were looking for drugs that might do this.

C. elegans is a roundworm, or nematode, much studied because despite its tiny size, its biology is similar to that of humans and other animals.

Buck's team did a random search through 88,000 different drug compounds to see if any of them happened to make C. elegans live longer.

They found four drugs that extended life span by 20 percent to 30 percent. The drug with the strongest effect was mianserin, in a class of drugs known as tetracyclic antidepressants.

It blocks brain cell signaling by the neurotransmitter or message-carrying chemical serotonin, which is linked with mood and appetite.

The drug is used in Europe under several brand names, including Bolvidon, Norval and Tolvon but not usually in the United States. It can cause aplastic anemia and other effects on immune system cells.

Buck's team found that in addition to interfering with serotonin in the worm, it also blocked receptors for another neurotransmitter, octopamine.

They said some other research suggests that serotonin and octopamine may complement one another -- with serotonin signaling the presence of food and octopamine signaling starvation.

Buck said it is possible that mianserin drug tips the balance in the direction of octopamine, tricking the brain into thinking it has been starved.

Petrascheck said another antidepressant, mirtazapine, had similar effects. An antihistamine and migraine drug called cyproheptadine, as well as a compound not used in people called methiothepin also affected serotonin and extended worm life span.
They tested other popular antidepressants that affect serotonin and found they did not make the worms live longer.

He is worried that people will rush to take the drugs in the hope of living longer.
"It is a stretch from a worm to a human being," Petrascheck said.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox, editing by Will Dunham and David Wiessler)

New Guideline to Treat Unprovoked Seizure

A guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology recommends a routine electroencephalogram (EEG) and brain scans be considered when diagnosing and treating adults who experience their first unprovoked seizure. Evidence shows such tools often detect brain abnormalities that caused the seizure and predict seizure recurrence. The guideline is published in the November 20, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The guideline recommends a routine EEG be considered as part of the diagnosis of a person with a first unprovoked seizure. “Evidence shows an EEG revealed abnormalities indicating epilepsy in about one in four patients and was predictive of seizure recurrence,” said Krumholz, who is also a professor of neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

The guideline also recommends CT or MRI brain scans be routinely considered since the scans are significantly abnormal in one of 10 patients, helping to indicate the cause of their seizure. “A CT scan or MRI may lead to the diagnosis of disorders such as a brain tumor, stroke, an infection, or other structural lesions and may help determine a person’s risk for a second seizure,” said Krumholz.

For adults who experience their first unprovoked seizure, Krumholz says the results of an EEG, CT or MRI will influence aspects of patient care and management, including drug treatment, patient and family counseling, and the need for immediate hospitalization and subsequent follow-up.

Seizures are among the most common serious neurological disorders cared for by neurologists. Annually approximately 150,000 adults will have a first seizure in the United States. It is estimated that in 40 to 50 percent of these people, seizures recur and are classified as epilepsy.

Source: American Academy of Neurology

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