Serotonin News and Research

Latest Serotonin News and Research

Research sheds light on the molecular basis of SIDS

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a condition that unexpectedly and unexplainably takes the lives of seemingly healthy babies aged between a month and a year.

3 Jul 2008

Effects of magic mushrooms long-lasting

Researchers in the United States say the "spiritual" effects of sacred mushrooms can last for more than a year.

2 Jul 2008

Spiritual effects of 'sacred mushrooms' appear to last more than a year

In a follow-up to research showing that psilocybin, a substance contained in "sacred mushrooms," produces substantial spiritual effects, a Johns Hopkins team reports that those beneficial effects appear to last more than a year.

1 Jul 2008

Cymbalta approved for fibromyalgia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Cymbalta (duloxetine HCl) for the management of fibromyalgia, a chronic widespread pain disorder, Eli Lilly and Company announced.

16 Jun 2008

Decisions best made on a full stomach

British researchers say decisions are best made on a full stomach. The scientists say a full stomach minimises hasty decisions and prevents impulsive actions.

8 Jun 2008

You may not be what you eat after all!

A new study shows that increased eating does not necessarily lead to increased fat. The finding in the much-studied roundworm opens the possibility of identifying new targets for drugs to control weight, the researchers say.

3 Jun 2008

Thinness versus obesity not directly linked to eating habits

Whether you are fat or thin isn't directly determined by your eating habits, suggest researchers who report new findings made in worms in the June issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press.

3 Jun 2008

Spectral Modeling technology substantiated through creation of antipsychotic bank of drug candidates

LIUS Molecular Design is pleased to announce that it has successfully created two antipsychotic drug candidates with third party confirmation of predicted biological activities via in vitro testing.

19 May 2008

Regenerative medicine offers hope in spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can be a catastrophic event for the individual. Traditionally, such injuries were viewed as permanent, irreversible neurological dysfunction, but over time research has shown some neuroplastic capability of the injured adult mammalian spinal cord. However, spontaneous functional recovery post-SCI is very modest.

14 May 2008

Researchers find link between altered dopamine activity and social anxiety disorder

Using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), researchers in The Netherlands were able to detect biochemical differences in the brains of individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia), providing evidence of a long-suspected biological cause for the dysfunction.

12 May 2008

Big differences in depressed brains

Depressed people may have far fewer of the receptors for some of the brain's "feel good" stress-response chemicals than non-depressed people, new University of Michigan Depression Center research shows.

8 May 2008

Prozac shows promise for multiple sclerosis

The antidepressant Prozac may help to curb disease activity in the relapsing remitting form of multiple sclerosis (MS), reveals preliminary research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

30 Apr 2008

Study suggests that antidepressants could also be used for the treatment of amblyopia

In the April 18 issue of Science, scientists from the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy and the Neuroscience Centre at the University of Helsinki, Finland, provide new information about the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs.

17 Apr 2008

Marketing of unproven genetic tests a threat to public health

No mechanism currently exists to ensure that genetic tests are supported by adequate evidence before they go to market, or that marketing claims are truthful and not misleading, according to a policy analysis to be published April 4 in Science.

4 Apr 2008

When your antidepressants don't work

should you switch to a different medication from the same class or should you try an antidepressant medication that has a different mechanism of action?

26 Mar 2008

Antidepressant use linked to type 2 diabetes

While analyzing data from Saskatchewan health databases, Lauren Brown, researcher with the U of A's School of Public Health, found people with a history of depression had a 30 per cent increased risk of type 2 Diabetes.

26 Mar 2008

Experts warn, no Easter chocolate for pets!

Experts are warning pet owners not to give their dogs or cats chocolate over the Easter period.

19 Mar 2008

The yin and yang of genes for mood disorders

Individual genes do not cause depression, but they are thought to increase the probability of an individual having a depression in the face of other accumulating risk factors, such as other genes and environmental stressors.

13 Mar 2008

Researchers may have found test for depression

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered that a change in the location of a protein in the brain could serve as a biomarker for depression, allowing a simple, rapid, laboratory test to identify patients with depression and to determine whether a particular antidepressant therapy will provide a successful response.

12 Mar 2008