Newfound Protein Is Tied to Depression
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Scientists have discovered a protein that seems to play a crucial role in developing depression, a finding that may lead to new treatments for the often debilitating illness and fundamental understanding of why it strikes.
The newly found protein, named p11, appears to regulate how brain cells respond to the neurotransmitter serotonin, which has long been linked to depression, researchers from Rockefeller University and Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet reported Friday in the journal Science. Current treatments for depression increase brain levels of serotonin. The p11 protein makes cells more sensitive to it.
