Can these new compounds treat memory loss in depression?
Memory loss does not only occur in neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia. It also happens with age, or in relation to mental health problems, such as depression. Now, researchers have developed new compounds that could reverse this cognitive effect.
Memory loss is not solely a bedfellow of dementia. It can also be a natural part of the aging process, however unwelcome.
Memory problems also occur in people experiencing emotional distress, particularly individuals facing conditions that may include depression.
For instance, a study appearing last year in the journal Neurology found that people who were exhibiting noticeable symptoms of depression also had poor episodic memory, the type of memory that recalls specific events.
Recently, researchers from Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Canada have been working hard to develop new compounds able to reverse memory loss that they believe relates to depression and age progression.
"Currently, there are no medications to treat cognitive symptoms such as memory loss that occur in depression, other mental illnesses, and aging," notes study author Dr. Etienne Sibille.
However, the new compounds that the researchers have tested in preclinical trials appear to reverse memory loss quickly, plus "fix" the underlying brain mechanisms that cause these problems in the first place.
Dr. Sibille and colleagues conducted a series of studies to find the right compounds and reach their current conclusions. They have published the findings of their most recent study in the journal Molecular Neuropsychiatry.
The team also presented their work earlier this week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
Targeting a faulty system
In the first stage of their research, Dr. Sibille and colleagues searched for and found the disruptions to brain cell receptors in the GABA neurotransmitter system.
Previous research has heavily implicated the GABA system in mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. The system also helps regulate the communication between certain brain cells and their activity.
Impairments in receptors in the GABA system, the latest researchers believed, were also likely to cause memory loss that related to depression and aging.
In their ongoing research, the scientists developed a series of molecules with the aim of binding to and activating these faulty receptors. This, the researchers suspected, would repair the baseline mechanism and, thus, improve memory loss symptoms.
