If you’ve ever been prescribed antidepressants, you know that there can be a lot of trial-and-error before you find one that works.
What helps me might make you feel worse, and vice versa.
Scientists are starting to figure out why — primarily through research on genes — but a new study offers another potential fruitful avenue.
What is it?
If you guessed “checking levels of the protein GPR56,” then good for you, you’re right!
Basically, McGill University researchers found that study participants who took antidepressants that changed their GPR56 levels felt much better than those who took the Rx and didn’t feel any better.
In other words: Jim takes Rx, his GPR56 level changes, and he feels good. Lisa takes the same Rx, her GPR56 level stays the same, and she feels bad.
It seems that the antidepressant worked for some people by its effect on the protein GPR56.
GPR56 is implicated in depression. Folks with altered GPR56 are more likely to be depressed, and that’s because of GPR56’s effect on the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in the regulation of — you guessed it — emotions!
So why’s this important?
First, it gives researchers another thing to target as they cook up better antidepressants — GPR56.
And more practically, you can measure GPR56 through a simple blood test, and if your GPR56 level is changing on a particular Rx, you might be on the right track. If it isn’t, that means that particular antidepressant might never work for you. So this is very practical research, too.
