Scientists have concluded that low levels of serotonin are not the root cause of depression and have thus challenged existing beliefs about the disease, reports the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.
Researchers at Wayne State University (USA) bred mice lacking the ability to produce serotonin in the brain, and to their surprise found that they showed no symptoms of depression. This contradicts the widely held serotonin hypothesis, according to which it is the deficiency of this neurotransmitter that plays a major role in the development of the disease.
Depression is a serious affective disorder that affects over 350 million people worldwide and disrupts their daily functioning. Scientists have been looking for new treatments for this ailment for years. In the late 80s, when fluoxetine (Prozac) came onto the market, it seemed that the right solution had finally been found. The drug belonged to the group of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and increased the level of this compound in the body. As a consequence, researchers concluded that serotonin deficiency is the main risk factor for depression, and although it is now known that fluoxetine does not eliminate depression symptoms in 60-70% of patients. patients, the serotonin hypothesis has remained in circulation until now.
American scientists decided to test the validity of this hypothesis. They subjected mice deprived of serotonin to various tests and found that the animals behaved compulsively and aggressively, but had no symptoms of depression, and also reacted in the same way as normal rodents when under stress and after administration of antidepressants.
According to the authors, the results of this study may completely change the approach to the treatment of depression and lead to the development of completely new drugs. (PAP)
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