Serotonin News and Research

Latest Serotonin News and Research

Individuals taking antidepressants may experience personality change, says new report

Individuals taking a medication to treat depression may experience changes in their personality separate from the alleviation of depressive symptoms, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Dec 2009

FDA approves once-daily SEROQUEL XR Extended Release Tablets

AstraZeneca today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved once-daily SEROQUEL XR® (quetiapine fumarate) Extended Release Tablets as adjunctive (add-on) treatment to antidepressants in adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

4 Dec 2009

AstraZeneca and Targacept enter into agreement to develop and commercialize TC-5214

AstraZeneca and Targacept, Inc. today announced a collaboration and license agreement for the global development and commercialization of TC-5214, Targacept’s late-stage investigational product for major depressive disorder (MDD).

3 Dec 2009

Repeated use of ecstasy drug increases the risk of developing sleep apnea

Repeated use of the drug popularly known as "ecstasy" significantly raises the risk of developing sleep apnea in otherwise healthy young adults with no other known risk factors for the sleep disturbance, a new study by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests.

2 Dec 2009

Integrated eating disorders center to be launched shortly

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, in affiliation with the New York State Psychiatric Institute, announced the creation of an integrated eating disorders center. Opening today is a key clinical component of this new center -- The Outlook at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division in White Plains.

2 Dec 2009

J&JPRD submits an NDA for tapentadol ER tablets

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. announced today that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for tapentadol extended release (ER) tablets, an investigational oral analgesic for the management of moderate to severe chronic pain in patients 18 years of age or older.

2 Dec 2009

Galenea and Otsuka Pharmaceutical extend their research and development collaboration

Galenea Corp. and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced today the further extension of their research and development collaboration through 2011. This latest extension increases the collaboration term to seven years and brings the total committed funding to approximately $90 million.

2 Dec 2009

Comprehensive investigation employing FRET to study amino acid transporter GAT1 reported

In the December 2009 issue of the Journal of General Physiology (www.jgp.org), Moss et al. report a comprehensive investigation employing F-rster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to study the {gamma}-amino acid (GABA) transporter GAT1, a member of the family that includes transporters for neurotransmitters dopamine (DAT), serotonin (SERT), norepinephrine (NET) and glycine (GlyT).

1 Dec 2009

Eli Lilly's Cymbalta receives FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Cymbalta® (duloxetine HCl) for the maintenance treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in adults, announced Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY).

30 Nov 2009

Study on placebo effect

A short time ago, Swedish scientists published a paper suggesting the existence of a genetic disposition to respond to placebo, thus giving rise to debate in the media about a possible "placebo gene." In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2009; 106[46]: 751-5), Matthias Breidert and Karl Hofbauer summarize the most recent data about placebos.

28 Nov 2009

Findings show the relationship between neurotransmitter dopamine and ADHD

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have uncovered evidence of a primitive emotion-like behavior in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.

26 Nov 2009

Reboxetine drug does not alleviate depression, says new study

There is no scientific proof that people suffering from depression can benefit from taking reboxetine. However, clinical trials do provide proof of benefit of bupropion XL and mirtazapine: both agents can alleviate symptoms. This is the conclusion of the final report of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) published on 24 November 2009.

24 Nov 2009

Top-line data from Lexicon Pharmaceuticals' LX1031 Phase 2 study for IBS to be presented

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that top-line data from its Phase 2 clinical study with LX1031 in patients with non-constipating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) will be presented at GASTRO 2009 in London this week. Results from the study, which showed a significant improvement in IBS symptoms, will be presented by Dr. Philip M. Brown, Lexicon's senior vice president of clinical development, on November 25, 2009 at 2:30 pm local time at the session entitled, "Therapeutic insights in functional digestive disorders."

23 Nov 2009

BioSante Pharmaceuticals applauds Boehringer Ingelheim for developing a therapy to treat HSDD

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company developing products for female sexual health, including LibiGel® for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), applauds the efforts of Boehringer Ingelheim to develop a therapy to treat this unmet medical need.

17 Nov 2009

Positive results from Lexicon Pharmaceuticals' LX1031 Phase 2 study for IBS

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the company's investigational new drug, LX1031, a tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) inhibitor, demonstrated positive results in clinically important parameters for the treatment of non-constipating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

13 Nov 2009

Potential benefits of Labopharm's novel trazodone formulation published

Labopharm Inc. today announced an article has been published in the international journal of neuropsychiatric medicine, CNS Spectrums October, 2009 issue, citing the potential benefit of its novel trazodone formulation, which contains Contramid(R). Labopharm's Contramid is the clinically validated proprietary technology that controls the release of active substances from oral medications to optimize drug delivery.

11 Nov 2009

Low-fat diet improves mood and memory skills, says new study

After one year, a low-calorie, low-fat diet appears more beneficial to dieters' mood than a low-carbohydrate plan with the same number of calories, according to a report in the November 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Nov 2009

National Institutes of Health grants $6-million for brain disease research

Brown University, in collaboration with two other institutions, has been awarded a five-year, $6-million National Institutes of Health program project grant to help determine how a virus that can cause a rare brain disease attaches to host cells.

6 Nov 2009

Scientists develop technique to predict new target diseases for existing drugs

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco have developed and experimentally tested a technique to predict new target diseases for existing drugs.

4 Nov 2009

New improved enzyme could help facilitate spinal cord injuries

Researchers have developed an improved version of an enzyme that degrades the dense scar tissue that forms when the central nervous system is damaged. By digesting the tissue that blocks re-growth of damaged nerves, the improved enzyme - and new system for delivering it - could facilitate recovery from serious central nervous system injuries.

4 Nov 2009