PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New discoveries on depression

D-serine improves memory in 'depressed' rats

2012-02-29
(Press-News.org) During depression, the brain becomes less plastic and adaptable, and thus less able to perform certain tasks, like storing memories. Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have now traced the brain's lower plasticity to reduced functionality in its support cells, and believe that learning more about these cells can pave the way for radical new therapies for depression.

"We were able to cure memory dysfunction in 'depressed' rats by giving them doses of D-serine," says Mia Lindskog, biologist and Assistant Professor at Karolinska Institutet's Department of Neuroscience.

Dr Lindskog and her team used FSL rats, which are rats that have been specially bred with a disposition for 'depression'. The rats were first put through two tests to confirm that they had the symptoms that are also characteristic of human depression. In the first, the rats' memories were checked by repeatedly being exposed to different objects; in the second, the team assessed their level of apathy by releasing them in a container of water and observing whether they merely stayed floating in the container or immediately tried to climb out (non of the rats had to stay in the water for more than five minutes). In both cases the FSL rats' results were compared with normal laboratory rats, and memory disorders and apathy could be confirmed.

The researchers then injected the rats with D-serine. This substance improved their memories but had no effect on the apathy.

"We have shown that there are two symptoms here that can be influenced independently of one another, which means they could be treated in tandem in patients with depression," says Dr Lindskog.

The researchers also studied the synaptic activity in the hippocampus of the rats, a part of the brain which plays an important part in the memory. They found that there was a much higher degree of synaptic activity in the brains of the depressed rats than in the controls. However, when the researchers tried to increase the level of signal transmission, they found the brains of the depressed rats to be unresponsive, which indicated that they had a lower plasticity that rendered them unable to increase neuronal activity when needed – unlike the brains of the healthy rats. When the brain samples were soaked in D-serine, the plasticity of the depressed rats' brains improved.

D-serine is a substance secreted by astrocytes, which are support cells for brain neurons.

"We don't actually know very much about these glial cells, but it's very likely that they perform a very important function in the brain," says Dr Lindskog.

It is hoped that their discoveries will eventually lead to new therapies for depression.

"D-serine doesn't pass the blood-brain barrier particularly well, so it's not really a suitable candidate on which to base a drug, but the mechanism that we've identified, whereby it's possible to increase plasticity and improve the memory, is a feasible route that we might be able to reach in a way that doesn't involve D-serine," says Dr Lindskog.

INFORMATION:

Publication: 'Dysfunctional Astrocytic Regulation of Glutamate Transmission in a Rat Model of Depression', Marta Gómez-Galán, Dimitri De Bundel, Ann Van Eeckhaut, Ilse Smolders, Maria Lindskog, Molecular Psychiatry, online 28 February 2012.

For further information, please contact
Mia Lindskog, Assistant Professor
Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
Tel: +46 (0)8-524 87081 or +46 (0)703 173272.
Email: Mia.Lindskog@ki.se.

Contact the Press Office and download photo: http://ki.se/pressroom

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Clean delivery kits linked to substantial reduction in neonatal deaths in South Asia, study shows

2012-02-29
Providing clean delivery kits and improving birthing practices could halve the number of neonatal deaths following home births in South Asia, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust. Around half a million babies die in the first month of life from sepsis and around a third of these infections are transmitted at the time of birth. In South Asia, more than half of deliveries occur at home, most without skilled birth attendance. Maintaining clean delivery practices at home can be challenging for mothers and their birthing companions. One way to potentially ...

Clinical guide on selective estrogen receptor modulators for postmenopausal osteoporosis

2012-02-29
Amsterdam, February 28, 2012 - Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today the publication of an important clinical guide from the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) in the February issue of Maturitas. This clinical guide details the role of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) against postmenopausal osteoporosis as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved the use of bazedoxifene and lasofoxifene. Postmenopausal osteoporosis and resulting fractures have a major ...

Direct measurement of the formation length of photons

2012-02-29
They achieved this by utilising the phenomena of objects moving slower and shortening in length from Einstein's theory of relativity, along with two pieces of gold foil and a micrometre screw. In Niels Bohr's model of the atom, electrons orbit the nucleus in 'shells' – the so-called stationary states. Light is emitted by a quantum leap between a high-lying shell and one nearer the nucleus. However, it is impossible to find the electron between the two shells, so it could be thought that the light emission process itself was instantaneous: the electron is in the outer shell ...

Social responsibility of businesses questioned

2012-02-29
When the Icelandic banking system was privatised in 2003, it inaugurated a period of furious expansion of both loans and risky investments. The bubble burst in 2008. At that time, the nominal assets of the three largest banks was 14 times bigger than Iceland's entire GDP. The crash shook Icelandic society to its foundations with mass bankruptcy, drastic increases in unemployment, loss of savings, increased indebtedness and raised taxes. Deteriorating health care and emigration of highly educated people are other consequences that will affect Iceland for a long time to ...

Blue Tax Inc. and Professional Bull Rider Ryan Dirteater Announce Partnership

2012-02-29
Blue Tax Inc. announced that they have reached an agreement with Professional Bull Rider Ryan Dirteater to be his Official Helmet Sponsor. Blue Tax Inc. will activate the partnership through a camera-visible rider's helmet during the PBR's Built Ford Tough Series events in Glendale, Ariz.; Indianapolis; Uncasville, Conn.; Boise, Idaho; and Pueblo, Colo. Blue Tax will provide three custom-painted helmets for Dirteater to wear during his quest to win the PBR World Championship. "Blue Tax Inc. approached me and said that I was a rider that they wanted to put ...

Study shows how the brain responds to deceptive advertising

2012-02-29
Several specific regions of our brains are activated in a two-part process when we are exposed to deceptive advertising, according to new research conducted by a North Carolina State University professor. The work opens the door to further research that could help us understand how brain injury and aging may affect our susceptibility to fraud or misleading marketing. The study utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to capture images of the brain while study participants were shown a series of print advertisements. The fMRI images allowed researchers to ...

Eye movement not engaged in arms race, NYU researchers find

2012-02-29
We make our eye movements earlier or later in order to coordinate with movements of our arms, New York University neuroscientists have found. Their study, which appears in the journal Neuron, points to a mechanism in the brain that allows for this coordination and may have implications for rehabilitation and prosthetics. Researchers have sought to understand the neurological processes behind eye and arm movements. For example, when you reach for an object, what goes on in our brains so that our eyes and arms are in sync? Such coordination is central to the way different ...

Fewer women need repeat breast cancer surgeries with new service at University of Michigan

Fewer women need repeat breast cancer surgeries with new service at University of Michigan
2012-02-29
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Nearly one in three women who have breast cancer surgery will need to return to the operating room for additional surgery after the tumor is evaluated by a pathologist. A new service at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center cuts that number drastically by having pathologists on-site in the operating suite to assess tumors and lymph nodes immediately after they are removed. Meanwhile, the surgeon and patient remain in the operating room until the results are back, and any additional operating can be done immediately. This cut the number ...

The end of the 'Lily of the Valley phenomenon' in sperm research?

2012-02-29
According to a 2003 study by German and American scientists, a component of the Lily of the Valley scent known as Bourgeonal alters the calcium balance of human sperm and attracts the sperm. The "Lily of the Valley phenomenon" – also the title of a book about smelling – was born as a result of this discovery that sperm act as swimming olfactory cells which follow a "scent trail" laid by the egg. However, a detailed explanation for the Lily of the Valley phenomenon remained illusive as neither Bourgeonal nor other scents could be identified in the female sex organ. Scientists ...

Fanz Media Group Inc. Announces the Launch of fanz.com, the World's First Sports Network to Instantly Connect Millions of Sports Fans Across Social and Traditional Media

Fanz Media Group Inc. Announces the Launch of fanz.com, the Worlds First Sports Network to Instantly Connect Millions of Sports Fans Across Social and Traditional Media
2012-02-29
Fanz Media Group Inc. announced today the launch of fanz.com a social network specifically focused on sports enthusiasts. Web and social media experts, and the gurus of sports media have come together to create the ultimate network of sports fans. Fanz.com is an open forum specifically for any and every sport. Any sport you can think of, fanz.com instantly connects you with the multimedia and social streams and allows instant interaction with other sports fans from around the globe. Fanz.com is a sports network that provides one click content feeds and real time interaction ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Plant doctor: An AI system that watches over urban trees without touching a leaf

Study tracks chromium chemistry in irradiated molten salts

Scientists: the beautiful game is a silver bullet for global health

Being physically active, even just a couple of days a week, may be key to better health

High-fat diet promote breast cancer metastasis in animal models

A router for photons

Nurses and AI collaborate to save lives, reduce hospital stays

Multi-resistance in bacteria predicted by AI model

Tinker Tots: A citizen science project to explore ethical dilemmas in embryo selection

Sensing sickness

Cost to build multifamily housing in California more than twice as high as in Texas

Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

[Press-News.org] New discoveries on depression
D-serine improves memory in 'depressed' rats