Medications that treat depression and anxiety help worms lay healthier eggs. Reported by Northwestern University.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are a popular class of medication for the treatment of depression. They can increase the amount of serotonin (“the joy hormone”) in the synaptic cleft, so patients can feel better.
Ilya Ruvinsky and his research team have found in previous studies that the addition of male pheromones slows the aging of female roundworm eggs. When female roundworms sensed male pheromones, they diverted their energies and resources away from general body health and towards better reproductive health. Over time, researchers discovered that this was mediated by serotonin, and the new study was designed to test this hypothesis in practice. The authors primarily experimented with Prozac, but also tested the performance of citalopram and zimelidine.
Exposure to these antidepressants not only reduced the fetal death rate by more than half, but also more than halved the chromosomal abnormalities in the surviving offspring. Under the microscope, the eggs also looked younger and healthier, looking round and plump rather than the small and deformed eggs of older females. A similar effect was obtained in the experiment on fruit flies.
The authors hope their discovery will expand the fertility window for women who have nearly lost the ability to have healthy children in late middle age.
ancient scientists clarified a new type of activity in the brain of a dying person.