Serotonin and AD

[progranulindefect]

I found this report in http://www.operamedphys.org/OMP_2016_01_0018


"Most of the publications dealing with the role of serotonin receptors in AD focus on the possible interplay between the serotonergic system and the amyloid-mediated part of pathophysiology. This is mostly based on the experimental finding demonstrating that administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) to mouse models of AD reduces the production of toxic amyloid proteins and amyloid plaques (Cirrito et al., 2011; Sheline et al., 2014). SSRIs are targeting 5-HT transporter proteins in brain, with the aim of increasing serotonergic neurotransmission. They are the current first line drugs used as long-term antidepressant treatments and show only minor side effects. The fact that SSRIs seem to inhibit the production of toxic amyloid species makes them a promising tool to slow-down the progression of AD (Claeysen et al., 2015)."


I have found that since I have started periodically taking a supplement that increases serotonin in the brain, 5-htp, I have less slurring of words and a better ability to come up with the right word. These were big problems for me last year. I know I have the progranulin defect, which has been assoiciated with frontotemporal lobe dementia. i also know i have defects in my serotonin transport system.

I am wondering whether people here who have loved ones with AD saw symptoms of low serotonin years before the development of AD, such as depression.

[Tincup]

My mother had a progressive dementia for 8-10 years prior to passing at 88 while living in a group assisted living home for dementia care. Never had a firm diagnosis whether it was AD. She never exhibited signs of depression.

[Stavia]

Both my parents had dementia (I'm 4/4). One was never depressed, one was from time to time. Coin toss huh.

[MarcR]

SSRIs [...] show only minor side effects.

SSRIs are often characterized as benign drugs with few side effects. Surviving Antidepressants is a forum site much like ours here with 7,000 members whose harrowing personal experiences tell a different story.

[progranulindefect]

Stavia, how old were your parents when they clearly started exhibiting signs of dementia? MarcR, I don't want to take antidepressants because it seems they are all anti-cholinergic. so is benadryl, and that mild drug caused me to sleep deeply, wake up feeling refreshed, and not be able to put a coherent sentence together, miss driving turns, etc. as far as i know, 5-htp isn't anticholinergic.

last year i would have to rehearse ahead of time the names of people i would be meeting (and who i would often see) so i wouldn't draw a blank when facing them. i also have short term memory loss. last year i may have forgotten that i just asked you a question half an hour ago, so i would ask it again. this year i have improved to the extent that i know i asked you a question, i remember what the question was i asked, but i forgot what your answer was. so that's some improvement anyway.

[Stavia]

Stavia, how old were your parents when they clearly started exhibiting signs of dementia? .

I knew something wasn't quite right with my mum at about 87. But everyone said I was imagining it. It was extremely subtle but we were very close. It became apparant at about 88 and significant about 89 1/2. She died of renal failure just short of 90. She had severe ulcerative colitis, constant inflammation.

My dad was a bit earlier but he had uncontrolled hypertension which he refused to treat. I'd say around 82 to 84ish. He died at 86 of pneumonia.

[Gilgamesh]

Two of my older relatives showing signs of cog. decline were put on SSRIs a year ago and both, according to prof'l evaluations, have shown great improvement. By itself doesn't say much but I know a lot of researchers who swear by SSRIs (for many uses). But they're not candy, to be sure.

[progranulindefect]

Gilgamesh, do you know what SSRI they were put on? How old are they?

[Hepoberman]

Have you considered Nicotine?

Study explores nicotine patch to treat memory loss - https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/10/29/ ... mory-loss/

"Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a $9.4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to test the effectiveness of a transdermal nicotine patch in improving memory loss in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease."

https://www.georgetown.edu/news/slowing ... otine.html

"Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) was one of three academic medical centers participating in the study, which showed that six months of nicotine patch treatment resulted in patients regaining up to 46 percent of normal performance for their age on certain long-term memory tests. The placebo group worsened by 26 percent during that time."

http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal. ... 5/abstract

[progranulindefect]

Thanks for the suggestion and links, Hepoberman. I am not consistently doing all the lifestyle changes, so I need to do those first before I try things on my list like Adderall or hormone replacement or a nicotine patch. I have problems sleeping due to perimenopausal hotflashes possibly relating to my serotonin transporter defect. Smoking is supposedly a well known hot flash trigger because nicotine is a stimulant. The Adhd meds interfere with sleep, too. And hormone replacement is dicey as my mother died of metastatic breast cancer. So I need to do more of the lifestyle changes. It's just hard when I'm tired all the time, and that increases my appetite.