Depressed monkeys may help scientists understand human ...( w animals that have menstrual cycles an...),Health

In addition, these animals have "pure" systems when it comes to medicine. They have no experience with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs such as Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft, that are often used to treat depression and can alter neurotransmissions, nor have they taken analgesics, alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs, Shively said.

Monkey models can be used to develop new treatments and test their effectiveness, Shively said, through observing their behavior and using brain scans to reveal if treatments or medications are actually working.

"Another way we'd like to see the model used is to investigate the cognitive aspects of depression," Shively said. "The way that many of our pharmaceutical products got onto the market was that they were tested on rodents. But when they were used by humans, we found side effects that caused cognitive dysfunction like lack of concentration. Depressed people do not need more cognitive dysfunction. This animal model could be used to test treatments that alleviate cognitive problems associated with depression rather than making them worse."

Shively pointed out that there are very few places in the country that have both a primate center and an imaging center that made this study possible. "This research cannot be done without having both centers here."

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Contact: Karen Richardson
krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu
336-716-4453
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
3-Apr-2006