New Hope For Treating Depression

Philadelphia (CBS) -- The brain may be the most misunderstood organ in the body. It is somewhat ironic but these are the facts. Fortunately more and more studies are looking at the brain and how it functions.

Take the study of depression. Studies of brains at autopsy of patients with and without depression found that those of depressed people had lower levels of a particular protein called p11 in a region of the brain called the nucleus accumbens.

Obviously we can't test humans to see how P11 works but the researchers tested the effects of a reduction of this protein in the same brain region in mice and found that the mice exhibited behaviors suggestive of depression-like states. When they replaced the protein using gene therapy, however, the mice that previously completely lacked p11 started behaving more like normal mice.

This research could lead to new treatments for depression.

Reported By Dr. Brian McDonough, KYW Newsradio Medical Editor