Prozac may help fight Huntington's disease

MELBOURNE, Oct 6, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Melbourne, Australia, scientists say they've found Prozac not only helps depression caused by Huntington's disease, but also improves learning and memory.

The researchers at the Howard Florey Institute, led by Dr Anthony Hannan, also found fluoxetine, the drug contained in Prozac, restores the brain's process of neurogenesis -- the birth of new neurons -- to normal levels, which delays the onset of the inherited fatal disease.

People with Huntington's disease suffer progressive motor problems, as well as symptoms of dementia and depression that usually start to appear in mid-life. There is no cure and death usually results within 10 to 20 years of adult symptom onset.

Hannan said the Prozac discovery is an important step in developing effective treatments to delay the onset of symptoms and the progression of the illness.

"Now that we've found fluoxetine improves memory problems, or dementia, as well as depression in mice with Huntington's disease, further research can be conducted to see if the drug has the same benefits in humans with the disease," Hannan said.

The study is to be published in the European Journal of Neuroscience.

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