Posted by Sunnely on December 8, 2000, at 23:25:34
In reply to What are the researchers doing?, posted by mist on December 8, 2000, at 16:37:13
> Does anyone know how close researchers are to finding a way to test for what type of AD is best for you? Or to making some that work faster--say in two hours rather than eight weeks? Or to making a kinder, gentler AD that doesn't create more problems from side effects than it's supposed to solve? Is anyone working on this? It seems like the drug companies keep coming out with new ADs saying, this is better, "cleaner" but then you hear the same set of side effects from people who use them.
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Hi mist,
Here's my own 2 cents:
A look at the future regarding drug development (including antidepressants):
Although we are still in the infancy of human genomics, it has the potential to enable researchers to define truly novel mechanisms of drug action. While the entire human genome has now been sequenced in several individuals, the project is far from complete. The best estimate is that only 10% of the genes that code for human proteins have been identified. One of the next phases of the project will be to go through the sequenced human genome with the aim of identifying the remaining approximately 90,000 genes and then identifying their structural or regulatory protein products. Each of the regulatory proteins could represent a clinically useful target for drug action and a possible novel mechanism of action. At the same time, another goal will be to identify biologically important mutations in these genes that may either represent disease mechanisms or influence drug action either pharmacodynamically or pharmacokineticaly. In short, the field of "Pharmacogenomics" is the inevitable future.
A separate note.A look at the possible cause of depression and action of antidepressants or, "The birth of new nerve cells (neurogenesis) and depression":
It is now recognized that the brain continues to generate new neurons (nerve cells) well into adulthood and has made a marked impact on the field of neuroscience in general and specfically on neurobiological models of the pathogenesis (cause) of major depression. Stress, neuroendocrine activation, neurotransmitter systems, and other factors can downregulate (decrease) the process of neurogenesis and may contribute to certain morphological changes seen depression. Evidence is emerging that antidepressant treatments may mitigate these effects by stimulating neurogenesis in particular regions of the brain.
poster:Sunnely
thread:50202
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001130/msgs/50231.html