Restoring a vital gene in a small part of the brain could well reverse major depression in humans after animals studies demonstrated considerable promise, say researchers from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in an article published in Science Translational Journal, October 20 issue. The scientists say their data indicates that gene therapy would be able to treat patients who have not benefited from traditional medication treatment for major depression.
The next step will be to carry out a human trial using a gene therapy similar to the one researchers created for treating Parkinson's disease; trial results soon to be published.
Lead researcher, Dr. Michael Kaplitt said:
The authors wrote that p11, a brain protein, located at the nucleus accumbens, a minute part of the brain, plays a major role in our sensations of reward and pleasure - two features which patients with major depression lack. Addiction research scientists commonly investigate this part of the brain. A person who has been diagnosed with depression suffers considerably, to the point of disability because of their inability to find satisfaction with positive life experiences.
The investigators emphasize that several brain areas and neural circuits are involved in the development of depression - it is a complex disorder. However, they are convinced that if they restore p11 the course of a person's depression would change.
Dr. Kaplitt says:
In this study, human and animal data was gathered and studied by scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, Rockefeller University, Karolinska Institute in Sweden, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Neurologix in Fort Lee, N.J.
This new investigation can be traced back to a conversation between Dr. Paul Greengard, Rockefeller University, a Nobel Prize winner in 2000 for research into neurotransmissions between brain neurons, and Dr. Kaplit, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, a pioneering gene therapy scientist.
The next step will be to carry out a human trial using a gene therapy similar to the one researchers created for treating Parkinson's disease; trial results soon to be published.
Lead researcher, Dr. Michael Kaplitt said:
Given our findings, we potentially have a novel therapy to target what we now believe is one root cause of human depression.
Current therapies for depression treat symptoms but not underlying causes, and while that works for many patients, those with advanced depression, or depression that does not respond to medication, could hopefully benefit from our new approach.
The authors wrote that p11, a brain protein, located at the nucleus accumbens, a minute part of the brain, plays a major role in our sensations of reward and pleasure - two features which patients with major depression lack. Addiction research scientists commonly investigate this part of the brain. A person who has been diagnosed with depression suffers considerably, to the point of disability because of their inability to find satisfaction with positive life experiences.
The investigators emphasize that several brain areas and neural circuits are involved in the development of depression - it is a complex disorder. However, they are convinced that if they restore p11 the course of a person's depression would change.
Dr. Kaplitt says:
Applying molecular neurobiology and gene therapy to depression could dramatically alter the approach to psychiatric diseases. Our results provide further evidence that the underlying causes of psychiatric disorders are due to molecular changes in key brain circuits, so that they are much more similar to common neurological disorders -- such as Parkinson's disease - that might be helped by restoring molecular function.
In this study, human and animal data was gathered and studied by scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, Rockefeller University, Karolinska Institute in Sweden, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Neurologix in Fort Lee, N.J.
This new investigation can be traced back to a conversation between Dr. Paul Greengard, Rockefeller University, a Nobel Prize winner in 2000 for research into neurotransmissions between brain neurons, and Dr. Kaplit, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, a pioneering gene therapy scientist.
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