Prozac – better than Botox?

Do you want a young face or a young brain?

Shooting Botox in your face may make you look younger but scientists have found that the antidepressant Prozac may actually make your brain cells younger. It has been shown to restore old brain cells to their more plastic youthful condition in animal experiments.

The study has also lead to speculation that depression is caused by lack of new growth in the brain.

More on that in a sec.

Prozac, whose generic name is fluoxetine, could also be used to treat other conditions that are caused by malfunctioning brain cells, according to the primary author of the study, Jose Fernando Maya Vetencourt, a researcher in neurobiology at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy.

Don’t start gulping down the Prozac yet. So far the studies have been limited to rats.

The researchers gave Prozac to adult rats with impaired vision. Tests showed changes in brain protein expression and electrical signaling typical of younger brain cells and recovery of vision by the animals.

Vetencourt said further studies are needed to see if the same treatment will have similar effects on brain cells that control other functions.

Prozac is called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), because it blocks the activity of serotonin, a molecule that transmits signals between brain cells.

Are you depressed because your brain’s not growing?

“There have been discussions about the theory that a cause of depression is lack of growth in the brain,” said Dr. Julio Licinio, chairman of psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

“It used to be thought that no change could occur in the adult brain. New research has shown that there can be new growth in the brain, so the theory is that depression is caused by lack of new growth.”

More details are included in this US News and World Report.

Here’s a link to more information about antidepressants from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Check out these Brain Games on our website. They may or may not be better than Prozac or Botox but they could stimulate new growth in the brain. And they are fun to play. That should make you feel younger.