Posted by SLS on April 21, 2018, at 21:55:27
In reply to Re: TRIP8b inhibitors? Truly novel antidepressants., posted by bleauberry on April 21, 2018, at 8:37:20
> I would just say that maybe another novel approach would be to identify the cause of the "times of stress" and fix that.
Genes + childhood diversity = psychiatric illness.
How would you fix this particular scenario, understanding the realities of our current society?
> Make it so we fix the actual problems so we don't need a protein manipulating drug.
Would you venture a guess as to what these actual problems are?
Borrelia burgdorferi? Nutrition? Genes? Prenatal exposures? Bullying? Learned helplessness? Sexual abuse? Neglect? Stroke? Brain trauma? Substance abuse? Bereavement?
My vote is for "all of the above - and more".
> I mean, I have a question. Our scientists are so brilliant that they can figure out how to manipulate various proteins this way or that way, but they can't figure out what is actually wrong with the person's chemistry?
You are angry at the scientists?
And yes, we do need to manipulate biological functions in order to help people feel better until you or scientists can figure out the rest.
> Why do they focus on downstream but not upstream?
How far upstream would you like to go? Can you provide neuroscience with knowledge so that they can focus their attention there? Are you willing to support scientists or simply rail against them? And while we are here talking about scientists, they are not a monolithic consortium plotting against you and the two doctors you rely upon for your belief system.
As far as I can see, scientists focus on as many things as they can conceive of given the technologies that are available and the knowledge provided to them. Knowledge is always accumulating and evolving. Perhaps you expect too much of today's scientists. They are closer than they were yesterday and further away than they will be tomorrow - as long as science is not stymied by the dogma of demagogues and the disinformation spread by charlatans.
> In any case, the medical world could use some new options in terms of psychiatric medications so hopefully these new discoveries will help to improve the quality of life for some folks.
> > A novel set of antidepressant drugs might be developed that inhibit the actions of TRIP8b. This protein acts during times of stress to suppress activity in the hippocampus via the entorhinal cortex, which is located upstream. The hippocampus is a brain structure involved in mood and memory. When TRIP8b is inhibited, both of these regions become more active. In the laboratory, TRIP8b knock-out mice demonstrated antidepressant behavior and memory-enhancement. I couldn't guess at how long it would take for such compounds to become available - if at all. Some of us will never see them, but our children might.
This isn't a new option?
Hopefully, mankind will be able to help improve the quality of life for all folks.
I always appreciate your enthusiasm.
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1098278
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20180331/msgs/1098293.html