Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Fine-tuning Treatments For Depression

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ScienceDaily (Oct. 18, 2009) — New research clarifies how neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine, are regulated -- a finding that may help fine-tune therapies for depression.

Current drugs for depression target the regulatory process for neurotransmitters, and while effective in some cases, do not appear to work in other cases.

Recent findings suggest that synucleins, a family of small proteins in the brain, are key players in the management of neurotransmitters -- specifically, alpha- and gamma-synuclein. Additionally, researchers have found elevated levels of gamma-synuclein in the brains of both depressed animals and humans.

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