About one in five Danes are affected by depression at some point in their lives. The severe depressions may be treated with the so-called ‘tricyclic antidepressants,’ an antidepressant drug that is more effective than the drugs used for mild and moderate depressions.
But unfortunately, the tricyclic antidepressants also have a downside: significantly more and more serious side effects. So serious that many people stop taking the drug and thus receive no treatment for their depression.
Now, researchers from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, in collaboration with Lundbeck A/S and the National Institutes of Health in Baltimore, have discovered a substance that may solve that problem.
“We have discovered a substance, Lu AF60097, that works in a different way from the ones presently in use. If the new substance works, it may help the existing drugs get rid of the serious side effects,” says Professor at the Department of Neuroscience at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Claus Juul Løland.
Serotonin is a so-called neurotransmitter, a chemical substance found in the brain. In a person with severe depression, the level of serotonin is very low. Antidepressant drugs make adjustments to get a higher level of active serotonin.
“The antidepressants we use today work by going in and binding to the same site as serotonin on the serotonin transporter (SERT). The antidepressants block the return transport of serotonin and thereby also the removal of the active serotonin. But such blockage requires a relatively large dose of the antidepressant substance. And with the tricyclic antidepressants, that causes some serious side effects,” says Claus Juul Løland.
The side effects can be anything from life-threatening heart problems to severely dry mouth, visual disorders, development of mania, weight problems and digestive challenges.
