Word: serotonin
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...might an anti-depressant make someone's heart condition better? Zoloft is one of a group of anti-depressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIS) that work by keeping a neurotransmitter called serotonin from attaching to certain biochemical receptors in the brain. But serotonin receptors are also found in lots of other places. Blocking these receptors in the bloodstream appears to reduce formation of artery-choking clots by preventing the aggregation of blood cells called platelets. In essence, SSRIS seem to perform double duty--as mood lifters and blood thinners...
...being reformulated. Also showing promise are the atypical antipsychotics. The best-known antipsychotic, Thorazine, is a comparatively crude preparation that controls delusions by blocking dopamine receptors. In the process, it also causes weight gain, mood flattening and other side effects. Atypical antipsychotics work more precisely, manipulating both dopamine and serotonin and suppressing symptoms without causing so many associated problems. There are numerous atypical antipsychotics out there, including Zyprexa, Risperdal and Haldol, and many are being used to good effect on bipolar patients...
WHAT IT DOES: The raphe nucleus in the brain stem is home to serotonin cell bodies, which create and disperse the neurotransmitter to different parts of the brain...
WHAT HAS GONE WRONG: Bipolar patients have a 40% loss of the serotonin 1a receptor in the raphe, which may contribute to atrophy of neurons and depression...
...alleviate the often debilitating pain of migraines, but there are also whole classes of medications that can prevent them in the first place. These include beta and calcium-channel blockers that improve the flow of blood to the brain, anti-depressants that regulate levels of the brain chemical serotonin and various antiinflammatory drugs and anti-seizure medicines (epilepsy and migraines, for reasons no one yet understands, seem to have common origins...