Early study suggests Celexa, and other drugs in its class, might help, but many questions remain
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 14, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Preliminary research suggests that the commonly used antidepressant Celexa, and perhaps other drugs in its class, may temporarily lower levels of a protein that clogs the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
It's too early to know if the medication -- or the drugs that are similar to it -- could play a role in the prevention of the devastating brain-robbing disease. The authors of the new study only looked at the effects of a large dose of the drug for less than two days, and only healthy younger people took part in the research.
There's another important caveat: Previous efforts to reduce the levels of the protein, known as beta amyloid, haven't helped patients fend off Alzheimer's. And Celexa can cause some potentially serious side effects.
Still, "this is the first step in trying to move toward a preventive treatment," said study author Dr. Yvette Sheline, a professor of psychiatry, radiology and neurology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, in Philadelphia. "Up until now, people have been focused on treating Alzheimer's disease itself, but that seems to be happening too late."
An estimated 5 million people in the United States suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and one in three seniors will die while affected by the illness or another form of dementia, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
There's no cure for Alzheimer's, and the existing treatments can only provide relief of symptoms in some cases.
The new study examines the antidepressant Celexa, known by the generic name citalopram. It's one of several antidepressants (including Paxil, Zoloft and Prozac) that are known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
The researchers report that they were able to use the drug to significantly lower the levels of beta amyloid in older mice that were genetically modified so they'd develop an Alzheimer's-like disease. Beta amyloid is a normal component of the brain, but its levels grow into gunk-like "plaques" in people with Alzheimer's disease.
The study researchers also gave 60-milligram (mg) doses of the drug or an inactive placebo to healthy people aged 21 to 50. They then measured levels of beta amyloid in the spinal fluid of the participants over a 37-hour period.
Production of beta amyloid slowed by 37 percent in the participants who received Celexa, the investigators found.
In the best-case scenario, the drug would reduce levels of the protein before the levels became dangerous and send patients on the road to Alzheimer's later in life, Sheline said.
But there are still many unanswered questions. For one, it's not clear if the drug would have this effect in the long term. Sheline noted that's the next step for research.
"Is that effect sustained for several weeks? We're going to be doing that research in older people aged 65 to 85," Sheline said. "If we show that the effect is maintained, that the beta amyloid stays lowered, then we'd do longer-term studies."
source : Could Certain Antidepressants Slow Alzheimer's?
