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hi all any article mentioning cell death or apoptosis catches my eye this is more grist for the anti-stigma mill which still has so much to do in re pulverising the 'shame stigma' around 'mental illness' in general and clinical depression in particular the idea that 'the power of positive thinking' is a biochemical process is one more nail in the coffin of the 'pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps' cd bogeyman - and i say R.I.P.!! janet -------------------------------------------------- Serotonin blocker may blunt cancer cell "suicide" LONDON, Mar 26 (Reuters Health) - Serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates mood, has the capacity to cause certain cancer cells to self-destruct, a British researcher showed on Tuesday. The findings could pave the way for new treatments for a specific type of cancer called lymphoma. The research also shows that antidepressant drugs like Prozac block the ability of serotonin to trigger tumour cell death, raising the theoretical possibility that the drugs could increase cancer risk. But Professor John Gordon of the University of Birmingham, UK, who conducted the study, said patients should keep taking their drugs since there is no evidence of any link in practice. In test-tube experiments on a type of cancer called Burkitt's lymphoma, Gordon and others found that serotonin caused cancerous cells to die off. Burkitt's lymphoma normally forms in the neck or the stomach. It affects 2% of people with AIDS and is most common in central Africa. Through a series of experiments, the British researchers clarified the mechanism by which serotonin enters lymphoma cells and triggers a mechanism called apoptosis, or programmed cell death. The research is published in the online edition of the medical journal Blood. "Because we know the mechanism, we are now in a position to develop drug analogues of serotonin that will do the same job but have better pharmacological properties," Gordon told Reuters. The work also provides an intriguing insight into the way that "positive thinking" associated with high serotonin levels may play a key part in effective cancer care. The mechanism by which serotonin can get inside cancer cells and tell them to commit suicide suggests there is a clear "dialogue" between the brain and the immune system, he said. Eli Lilly and Co.'s Prozac, Glaxo SmithKline Plc's Paxil and Lundbeck's Celexa all "substantially blocked" the cancer-killing effects of serotonin. The finding reopens controversy about the widespread use of the class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that first went on sale in the 1980s. Millions of people with depression and anxiety have been prescribed the drugs, which have emerged as one of the biggest sellers for the international pharmaceutical industry. They work by stopping the "reuptake," or reabsorption, of serotonin by brain cells. "We've shown that, in the test-tube, the SSRIs stop the action of the serotonin on the cancer cells. But it's nigh on impossible to extrapolate to what's happening in the body," Gordon told Reuters. "We must stress the effects shown for SSRIs on cancer cells is indirect and should cause no concern whatsoever to the many millions of people throughout the world who are prescribed this class of antidepressants," he added. A spokesman for Britain's Department of Health said the research was at a very early stage and no increased risk of cancer had been detected. Drug company officials said they did not believe their pills caused any increase in cancer and questioned whether the high doses used in Gordon's experiments may have affected the results. "These data are from an in vitro (test-tube) study and as such they cannot be extrapolated to a clinical setting with any degree of certainty," said Martin Sutton, a spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline. Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2002/03/26/eline/links/20020326elin023. html janet paterson: an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit perky, parky pd: 55/41/37 cd: 55/44/43 tel: 613 256 8340 email: [log in to unmask] smail: 375 Country Street, Almonte, Ontario, Canada, K0A 1A0 a new voice: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn