https://www.dpa-international.com/trends-and-features/urn:newsml:dpa.com:20090101:260628-99-887256/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/laxative-found-improve-brain-function-124601541.html
A constipation medication has been shown to have a dual use as an anti-depressant and treatment for related cognitive dysfunction such as absent-mindedness and reduced concentration.
According to scientists based at the University of Birmingham and University of Oxford, prucalopride, a laxative that simulates a serotonin receptor in the gut and brain, helped participants who had been treated for depressive symptoms make decisions more quickly and accurately during a series of cognitive reasoning tests.
Compared to those who were given a placebo, patients who took the drug saw “significantly improved word recall on an auditory verbal learning task” as well as “faster response times on a complex working memory task without loss of accuracy,” the researchers said in a paper, published in June in the journal Psychological Medicine.
Serotonin is a chemical that transmits messages between nerve cells in the brain and throughout the human body and plays a central role in sleep, digestion, mood, sexual health and healing.
“Our study suggests that a targeted serotonin 5-HT4 receptor medication, already used for chronic constipation, may improve cognitive functioning in people with a history of depression,” said Angharad de Cates of the University of Birmingham.
“Cognitive impairment is a common and persistent feature of depression, yet it remains poorly understood and inadequately treated,” the team said in their paper, setting out why they undertook the research.
The type of medication used in the tests “could help restore aspects of cognitive function,” according to Oxford’s Susannah Murphy, who said the findings could mean “an exciting new direction for treatment development.”
