Back to Neurology Articles
Monday 24th October, 2005
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Scientists in Melbourne found that fluoxetine improves depression,
learning and memory in Huntington's disease.
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Howard Florey Institute scientists in Melbourne have found that
fluoxetine (commonly marketed as Prozac?) not only improves depression
in Huntington's disease, but also improves learning and memory.
Dr Anthony Hannan and his team also found that fluoxetine restores
the brain's process of neurogenesis - the birth of new neurons - to
normal levels, which helps delay the onset of the inherited fatal
disease.
People with Huntington's disease have progressive motor problems,
cognitive deficits (dementia) and psychiatric symptoms (the most common
is depression) that usually start to appear in mid-life. There is no
cure and death usually results within 10 to 20 years of symptom onset,
or faster in the childhood-onset form of the disease. The disease is
caused by a mutation in a single gene and when this defective gene is
passed from parent to child, 50 percent of the offspring will inherit
the disorder, which can be detected by genetic testing.
Dr Hannan said this discovery was an important step in developing
effective treatments to delay the onset of symptoms and the progression
of Huntington's disease.
"Now that we've found fluoxetine improves memory problems, or
dementia, as well as depression in mice with Huntington's disease,
further research can be conducted to see if the drug has the same
benefits in humans with the disease," Dr Hannan said.
"We have started discussing arrangements with colleagues to begin
human trials to see if fluoxetine, and related drugs, are also effective
treatments in people with the disease."
"Fluoxetine's ability to promote the birth of new neurons in the
normal and Huntington's brain provides new insight into the biological
basis of depression, as well as other brain disorders involving
dementia. It also suggests new applications for these antidepressant
drugs," he said.
During the study, mice with the Huntington's gene and control mice were
treated daily with either fluoxetine or saline. The mice were given
cognitive tests to perform to determine the behavioural effects of the
drug.
The scientists expected fluoxetine to improve the depressive-like
symptoms, which they have shown for the first time in mice with
Huntington's disease, but were surprised that it also improved cognitive
symptoms.
Dr Hannan's findings will soon be published in the European Journal
of Neuroscience.
Dr Hannan is internationally recognised for his research that proves
mental and physical exercise can delay the onset of some degenerative
brain disorders, including Huntington's disease. Brain disorders that
were previously thought to be 100 percent genetic can actually be
delayed, which brings great hope to sufferers of Huntington's disease.
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