Many psychiatric conditions are caused by aberrant metabolism of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Researchers in the Department of Pharmacy at LMU have now developed a new screening method, which will facilitate the search for new drugs that modulate the biological activity of serotonin.

Psychiatric ailments such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder or anxiety states are often associated with disturbances in the metabolism of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Neurotransmitters are compounds that are released from the synapses at nerve cell endings and activate the firing of neighboring neurons. Thus, as their name suggests, they mediate the transmission of nerve impulses. The serotonin transporter (SERT) is responsible for reuptake of the transmitter into neurons, terminating its action. SERT is a major target for drugs that are used to treat many mood disorders, and the search for new SERT inhibitors is of continuing therapeutic relevance.

A research team led by Professor Klaus Wanner of the Department of Pharmacy in the Center for Pharmaceutical Research at Ludwig-Maximilians Univeristät München (LMU) has now developed a novel binding assay, based on the use of mass spectrometry (MS), which promises to simplify the search for potential SERT inhibitors very significantly. The major advantage of the technique is that, unlike conventional binding assays, it avoids the need to use radiolabeled substances.

A paper that describes the new assay will appear in the journal ChemMedChem on 4. October. The article has been rated as a “very important paper” and is featured on the cover of the upcoming issue of the journal. [continue reading…]

People with dementia can still make decisions in their everyday lives and with support from partners can continue to do so as their condition advances. This is one of the preliminary findings of a two-year research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) into how married couples living with dementia make decisions on a daily basis.

Dr Geraldine Boyle and Dr Katherine Ludwin from Bradford University along with Dr Lorna Warren from the University of Sheffield research relates to people with early stage dementia to those with more advanced dementia. They have been spending time at home with the couples, interviewing each partner and observing them as they go about their daily routines.

Dr Boyle comments: “It’s important for people with dementia to be supported to allow them to make decisions where they’re still able to. Having dementia doesn’t mean you automatically lose your decision-making ability – this needs to be considered on a decision-by-decision basis. Professionals need to facilitate the involvement of people with dementia in decision-making as much as possible.”

Key preliminary findings include:

• Patterns of decision-making are influenced by the couple’s relationship before dementia. The partner who always took the lead will often continue to do this however in most cases the partner without dementia will eventually take over this role.
• Gender has a crucial impact on decision-making. Men with dementia are more likely to continue to take the lead if they have always done so.
• People with dementia still like to be involved in decision-making, but may look to their spouses for help with this process.
• The spouses of people with dementia try to support them to make decisions. For example, the partner with dementia may still pay at the till if the couple do the shopping together.
• Spouses may make decisions at times when their partners can still make these decisions. This can be down to factors such as time pressures and a desire to reduce the burden on their partners.
• However, complex decisions such as whether to attend a day care centre can cause anxiety and these have to be negotiated and sensitively handled.
• People with more advanced dementia can still communicate their likes or dislikes, through facial expressions and behaviour for example.

The study has also found that people with dementia may need encouragement to make decisions as well as the opportunity to make these decisions for themselves.

Dr Boyle concludes: “Because dementia is still quite a stigmatised illness, those living with the condition are sensitive to other people’s reactions to them. Their confidence can be quite fragile. It is important that they feel good about themselves and know that their views still matter.”

Source: Economic and Social Research Council

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Although sharply divided, public attitudes toward gays and lesbians are rapidly changing to reflect greater acceptance, with younger generations leading the way, research by NORC at the University of Chicago shows.

In addition to a plurality who now approve of same-sex marriage, Americans overwhelmingly support basic civil liberties and freedom of expression for gays and lesbians, in contrast to sharp division on such issues in the 1970s. Taken together, the results show a clear “trend toward greater tolerance regarding homosexuality,” said Tom W. Smith, director of the General Social Survey at NORC and author of the NORC report, “Public Attitudes toward Homosexuality.”

The rise in support for same-sex marriage has been especially dramatic over the last two decades. It went from 11 percent approval in 1988 to 46 percent in 2010, compared to 40 percent who were opposed, producing a narrow plurality in favor for the first time. The report is based on findings of the latest General Social Survey, conducted in 2010 with a cross sample of more than 2,000 people.
“There is a large generation gap on the issue [of same-sex marriage],” Smith said. While 64 percent of those under 30 back same-sex marriage, only 27 percent of those 70 and older support it.
Acceptance of homosexuality in general also reflects the generational difference in opinion. In 2010, 26 percent of the people surveyed who were under 30 said they felt same-sex behavior is “always wrong,” while 63 percent of the people aged 70 and older held that opinion. [continue reading…]