This news may prove to be a useful insight. A latest research from Georgetown University Medical Center sheds light on how neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine seem to be regulated. Apparently, this finding may assist in modifying therapies for depression.
Existing drugs for depression are believed to be targeting the regulatory process for neurotransmitters. Although these present drugs seem to be effective in a few cases, they fail to function in other cases.
Recent findings claimed that synucleins may be chief players in the management of neurotransmitters, particularly, alpha- and gamma-synucleins. Synucleins are known to be a family of small proteins inside the brain.
“These findings show the importance of, and clarify a functional role for, gamma synuclein in depression and may provide new therapeutic targets in treatment of this disease. Understanding how current therapies work with the synucleins is important because the drugs don’t work for all patients, and some are associated with side effects including an increased risk of suicide,†elucidates Adam Oaks, a student researcher in the Laboratory of Molecular Neurochemistry at GUMC.
In addition, researchers were observed to have found high levels of gamma-synuclein inside the brains of both depressed animals and humans. The findings further revealed that increased depressive-like behavior in mice where gamma-synuclein seems to function alone in order to control neurotransmitters. Supposedly, this confirmed earlier researches by this group.
The research findings have been presented at the 39th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.