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 06 July 2008 15:46 BST

Stress 'kills' brain cells

Wednesday, 14 Mar 2007 12:33
Stress could affect the creation of new brain cells

Health In Focus 

One stressful moment could destroy new nerve cells in the brain, US researchers have found.

A study in rats found that following periods of stress new nerve cells in the memory and emotion regions of the brain were generated but the majority later died.

The researchers behind the study from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science believe the findings could have an impact on the treatment of depression, as the loss of cells could be one cause of the condition.

They placed one young rat in a cage with two older rats for 20 minutes.

Writing in the Journal of Neuroscience, the researchers reported that that the older rats quickly pinned down and often bit the younger creature.

The younger rats became stressed, with stress hormones six times higher than those who had been kept away from the older rats.

After studying the rats' brain tissue under a microscope the scientists found that new brain cells had been able to develop despite the stress.

But after one week just one third of these new cells had survived.

Lead researcher Dr Daniel Peterson said that further research now needs to be undertaken to understand how stress affects cell survival and whether antidepressants might help to rescue nerve cells.

"If we can keep these new nerve cells alive, we might be able to forestall or prevent the types of depressive symptoms that might normally occur," he said in comments reported by the Reuters news agency.
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