COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y., May 15 (UPI) -- Researchers said Monday they have zeroed in on the brain cells targeted by Eli Lilly's anti-depressant Prozac.
The research team at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y., said it conducted a study that built on the previous understanding that Prozac causes more neurons to be present in a particular region of the brain, even though it was not known how this happens.
The Long Island researchers tested which step in the neurogenesis process -- whereby stem cells become specialized into different types of neurons -- might be stimulated by Prozac.
They found that the drug specifically stimulates a type of brain cell they dubbed "amplifying neural progenitors" or ANPs, the second step in the neurogenesis pathway from stem cells to mature neurons.
"This discovery might enable a new generation of more specific treatments for depression, with fewer side effects, to be developed," the research team said.
The study authors added that their work might also lay a foundation for future studies of the factors that control how, when and where new neurons are generated from stem cells in the brain, which could lead to cell replacement therapies for brain disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
The researchers noted that they are conducting a study to test the effects of Prozac on brain neurogenesis in juvenile and pregnant mice "to address the controversy surrounding the use of Prozac in children and in pregnant women."
