SSRIS Impact Human Immune System

SSRIs that treat depression by manipulating the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain may also affect the user's immune system in ways that are not yet understood.

Researchers from from Georgetown University Medical Center and a Canadian research institute have found that serotonin is passed between key cells in the immune system, and that the chemical is specifically used to activate an immune response.

What they do not yet know yet is whether SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) have either a beneficial or a damaging effect on human immunity.

"The wider health implication is that commonly used SSRI antidepressants, which target the uptake of serotonin into neurons, may also impact the uptake in immune cells," said Gerard Ahern, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pharmacology at Georgetown and lead researcher on the study.

Article on SSRIs Impact Human Immune System.

Poor Diet Linked to Rising Cases of Depression

Increasing rates of anxiety, depression and irritability could be due to a poor diet that lacks the essential chemicals to keep the brain healthy, according to a leading mental health charity.

A report out tomorrow describes the links between the less severe forms of mental disorder, such as anxiety, and the nation's increasing reliance on ready meals and processed food, which are heavy in pesticides, additives and harmful trans fats. Eating a diet without fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, pulses or nuts deprives the brain of the essential vitamins and nutrients needed to regulate it.

Read more about diet, anxiety, and depression.

Nobelist Discovers Antidepressant Protein in Mouse Brain

A protein that seems to be pivotal in lifting depression has been discovered by a Nobel Laureate researcher funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

“Mice deficient in this protein, called p11, display depression-like behaviors, while those with sufficient amounts behave as if they have been treated with antidepressants,” explained Paul Greengard, Ph.D., a Rockefeller University neuroscientist who received the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries about the workings of such neuronal signaling systems. He and his colleagues found that p11 appears to help regulate signaling of the brain messenger chemical serotonin, a key target of antidepressants, which has been implicated in psychiatric illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders. They report on their findings in the January 6, 2005 issue of Science.

Antidepressant protein in mouse brain.