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Science 329 (5994): 913-914

Copyright © 2010 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Neuroscience

A Glutamate Pathway to Faster-Acting Antidepressants?

John F. Cryan, and Olivia F. O'Leary

Depressive illness was described by Hippocrates in ancient Greece, but effective therapeutic agents did not emerge until the 1950s. Today, almost all antidepressant drugs in clinical use increase levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, in particular norepinephrine and serotonin. Although these medications are beneficial, a sizeable minority of patients remain resistant to their therapeutic effects (1). Moreover, in most patients, there is a delay of weeks to months before the drugs take full effect. As a result, there is an urgent need to develop faster-acting drugs (2–4).

School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, College Road, Cork, Ireland.

E-mail: j.cryan{at}ucc.ie

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-dependent Spinogenesis Underlies Antidepressant-like Effects of Enriched Environment.
Y.-F. Huang, C.-H. Yang, C.-C. Huang, and K.-S. Hsu (2012)
J. Biol. Chem. 287, 40938-40955
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