Common antidepressant may halt plaque growth associated with Alzheimer’s

New research published in the journal Science Translational Medicine reveals that the frequently prescribed antidepressant citalopram, also known as Celexa, could play a role in halting the progression of the brain-wasting disease.

Antidepressants like citalopram offer hope by targeting the brain’s amyloid beta proteins, which seem to be responsible for triggering the plaque build-up associated with the decline of memory and cognitive function in Alzheimer’s patients.

“The way the Alzheimer’s field is going is [we are] trying to find the initial insult in Alzheimer’s disease,” study a Dr. “We think it is the build-up of this amyloid beta peptide, and once it builds up, a lot of things go wrong.”

Amyloid beta proteins are produced by normal brain activity, but in Alzheimer’s patients, levels of this protein increase abnormally, clumping together to form plaques.

Previous research has shown that serotonin, a brain chemical thought to influence mood, seems to reduce amyloid beta production in the brain. In fact, an earlier study demonstrated that people with a history of antidepressant use had less amyloid plaques in their brains than those who never used antidepressants.
A popular type of antidepressant known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can influence serotonin levels, so the researchers were interested in testing its effects on mice and human models.  Using mice genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers discovered that the SSRI citalopram was able to completely stop the growth of brain plaques in the study group.

“SSRIs, by lowering a-beta levels 25 percent, were able to completely block that [plaque] growth,” Cirrito said. “The plaques never got smaller, and we couldn’t reverse the plaque [that was already there], but we could prevent it from growing.”

The researchers also tested citalopram in a group of cognitively healthy young adults. They discovered that after receiving a single dose of the antidepressant, the participants saw a 37 percent reduction of amyloid beta levels in their cerebrospinal fluid.
Currently, Cirrito said amyloid beta has no “known function” in the human body, and decreasing levels of the protein in humans doesn’t seem to have any ill effects on health. However, he noted that much research needs to be done before SSRIs can be proven effective at treating or preventing Alzheimer’s in humans.

“The SSRIs in this study were all given to healthy young people not at risk for Alzheimer’s,” Cirrito said. “We don’t know if the same thing will happen in people older, and not at risk for Alzheimer’s, and have no idea if it affects cognition,” Cirrito said.

Furthermore, he cautioned people against preemptively taking SSRIs in hopes of fending off or treating Alzheimer’s disease.
“There are certainly side effects [of SSRIs] that if they don’t need to be taken, it’s not a good idea to be on them until we know they can have an effect on Alzheimer’s, it’s premature to take them as a preventative measure,” Cirrito noted. “We’ve cured a mouse of a lot of different diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease many times, and those things haven’t panned out in people yet.”

Next, Cirrito and his team hope to move forward to study how SSRIs act on the brain to lower amyloid beta levels – and to continue to study the effects of SSRIs on different human populations.  

“On the human side, we’re doing a similar study to what we just completed but in people [who are] older and at risk for Alzheimer’s, to see if we can affect a-beta in those people or not,” Cirrito said. “If not, then the utility of this for people with Alzheimer’s would go down dramatically.” 

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Antidepressant use in pregnancy linked to autism risk in boys

Antidepressant use in pregnancy linked to autism risk in boys
A new study has shown that boys with autism were three times more likely to have been exposed to antidepressants known as SSRIs when in their mothers' womb than typically developing children. 


Though no cause and effect relationship could be established, the study found an association between prenatal use of SSRI antidepressants and autism risk in boys.
The study also established that boys whose mothers took SSRIs such as drugs including Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft during pregnancy were also more likely to suffer from developmental delays. The study authors were quick to point out that there are risks to both the mother and fetus from untreated depression.
The study co-author Li-Ching Lee, an associate scientist in the department of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, said, "We found prenatal SSRI exposure was almost three times as likely in boys with autism spectrum disorders relative to typical development, with the greatest risk when exposure is during the first trimester."
Though the study should not be used as a basis for clinical treatment decisions, the authors have urged that women should talk with their doctors about SSRI treatments."
Other experts said the overall risk of having a child with autism remains very low.
While SSRIs used during pregnancy cross the placenta and increase levels of the hormone serotonin in the fetus, as they do in the mother, the higher serotonin levels decrease depression.
Background information indicates that antidepressants are used in about 4 percent of all pregnancies. About one in three children with autism has higher-than-normal serotonin levels.
Researchers think these high levels may lead to the development of abnormal brain circuitry, which may play a role in the development of some autism symptoms, according to the study authors.
The new study is the latest in an ongoing debate about SSRI use during pregnancy and its possible association to autism spectrum disorders. The earlier studies on SSRI use in pregnancy have produced conflicting findings.

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Antidepressants during pregnancy affect babies

Some popular antidepressants in early pregnancy could double the risk of an unborn child developing a heart defect, an expert has warned. 

The expert  said that evidence suggests that there is a risk associated with the Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI). 

He said that a lot of effort is put in to dissuade women from smoking or drinking alcohol during pregnancy, however, its not the same with antidepressant medication, which may be carrying similar - if not greater - risks. 

He said that the guidance is now going be re-written to take in to account evidence that the SSRI antidepressants, as a group, are associated to heart defects in babies. 

He asserted that the risk of a child being born with a heart defect is around two in 100; but the new evidence shows that if the mother took an SSRI during early pregnancy the risk raises to around four in 100.




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