Researchers found that patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) exhibited a significant reduction of depressive symptoms after being treated with ezogabine, an FDA approved drug used to treat seizures.
After treatment, patients showed a 45 percent reduction in depression, a significant reduction in anhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure; and a significant increase in resilience.
This is the first study to suggest that ezogabine, part of a class of drugs known as potassium channel openers, may have an antidepressant affect in humans. The review will be published online on in Molecular Psychiatry.
In a previous study, the research team tested ezogabine, also known as retigabine, a potassium channel opener, in mice. They found that ezogabine had significant antidepressant effects in the mice, expressed by two common measures in rodents: increased social interactions and preferences for natural rewards.
In this study, 18 medication free individuals with MDD experiencing a major depressive episode received up to 900 mg of ezogabine daily during 10 weeks in an open label study to determine if the drug significantly engaged their reward system. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data revealing the connectivity of the reward system were collected at baseline and post-treatment to reexamine brain reward circuitry. After treatment with ezogabine, subjects exhibited a significant reduction of depressive symptoms measured by the the change in connectivity of their reward system.
"The results of this study are exciting because we haven't had a new medicine to treat depression in decades," said the study's senior author. "Most antidepressants are in the same class of drugs and work by increasing serotonin. Our research suggests a different molecular target that works through other brain mechanisms and could be helpful for patents."
The research team is currently conducting a larger multi-site double blind trial of ezogabine in patients with depression funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to further determine its efficacy in treating depression.
"We know that patients with depression become depressed for different reasons, and we've been stuck in a one size fits all treatment for a long time," said the senior author. "A new class of medicines could give us an opportunity to treat patients based on the specific underlying cause of their disease."
https://www.mountsinai.org/about/newsroom?utm_source=mountsinaiorg&utm_medium=news&utm_campaign=msorghp
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-018-0283-2
Anti-convulsant drug significantly reduced major depression symptoms
- 2,010 views
- Added
Edited
Latest News
Why episodes of low blood s…
By newseditor
Posted 30 Jan
Personalized brain modeling…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Jan
Afternoon chemotherapy impr…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Jan
Propionic acid protects ner…
By newseditor
Posted 28 Jan
How cells prevent harmful e…
By newseditor
Posted 28 Jan
Other Top Stories
Role of ion channel, Kv7.2/7.3 in ALS
Read more
Senolytics reduce coronavirus-related mortality in old mice
Read more
Cytosolic dsDNA of mitochondrial origin induces cytotoxicity and ne…
Read more
Microglial senescence contributes to Alzheimer's pathology
Read more
Nitrous oxide at low doses could be fast, effective treatment for s…
Read more
Protocols
Machine learning prediction…
By newseditor
Posted 09 Jan
Differentiating PC12 cells…
By newseditor
Posted 09 Jan
Ultrasensitive sensors reve…
By newseditor
Posted 05 Jan
In vitro-derived medium spi…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jan
Molecular and spatial signa…
By newseditor
Posted 30 Dec
Publications
HIF-1a accumulation in resp…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Jan
Electrical signals in the E…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Jan
Parathyroid hormone recepto…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Jan
Plasma biomarker profiles i…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Jan
Chemotherapy delivery time…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Jan
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 10 Mar
ASCO-2020-GYNECOLOGIC CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 10 Mar