An antidepressant used to treat humans can increase the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes, according to a study by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle (Petrascheck M et al. Nature. 2007;450[7169]:553-556).
By screening 88 000 chemicals for lifespan-enhancing effects on C elegans, the investigators identified the tetracyclic antidepressant mianserin (approved in New Zealand but not in the United States) as having these effects. Other antidepressants tested did not increase lifespan.
Additional studies in C elegans revealed that mianserin acts as an antagonist at the receptors for the neurotransmitters serotonin and octopamine. Studies using dietary-restricted animals or animals with mutations that affect lifespan indicated that mianserin does not reduce food intake, but its effect on lifespan involves mechanisms similar to those that underlie lifespan extension by dietary restriction.
"These studies indicate that lifespan can be extended by blocking certain types of neurotransmission implicated . . . [Full Text of this Article]
