Laxative for the head
A drug for the treatment of constipation can improve memory
Maria Tolmacheva, XX2 century
A group of researchers has discovered that a drug commonly used to treat constipation can help in the treatment of mental disorders and improve cognitive functions.
Severe mental disorders can have a devastating impact on a patient's life. Cognitive impairments — from decreased attention and memory to impaired social behavior and speech — are widespread with diagnoses such as depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These common problems are difficult to treat with existing medications, so scientists are looking for new ways of therapy.
Previous animal studies have shown that some new drugs that affect one of the serotonin receptors (the 5-HT₄ receptor) improve cognitive functions. However, the results obtained in animals were difficult to transfer to humans due to concerns about side effects. Now a group of British researchers has tested the already existing and approved drug prucalopride, which also affects the 5-HT₄ receptor, and also recorded an improvement in cognitive functions. Prucalopride is prescribed mainly for the treatment of constipation and has an acceptable level of side effects if taken under the supervision of a doctor. In Russia, this medicine is sold under the brands "Resolor" and "Vegaprat".
The study involved 44 healthy volunteers aged 18-36 years. 23 of them took prucalopride, and 21 — placebo. After 6 days, all volunteers underwent fMRI brain scans. Before being placed in an MRI scanner, the volunteers viewed a series of images of animals and landscapes. During the scan, patients viewed them again, as well as similar images. After the scan, the volunteers performed a memory test: they were asked to distinguish the images they had seen before and during the scan from a set of completely new images.
Article by de Cates et al. Déjà-vu? Neural and behavioral effects of the 5-HT4 receptor agonist, prucalopride, in a hippocampal-dependent memory task is published in the journal Translational Psychiatry.
Presenting the results of the work at the conference of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology in Lisbon, lead researcher Dr. Angharad de Cates from the University of Oxford, said:
"Participants who took prucalopride for six days showed much better results in the memory test than those who received a placebo; the group taking prucalopride recognized 81% of previously viewed images versus 76% in the placebo group. Statistical tests showed that this was a fairly significant effect — such an obvious improvement in cognitive abilities when using the drug came as a surprise to us."
The researchers found that compared to those who took a placebo, the volunteers who took prucalopride performed significantly better on the memory test after the scan, and also showed increased activity in areas of the brain associated with cognition during fMRI scans. Increased activity was observed in areas associated with memory, such as the hippocampus and the right angular gyrus.
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