SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - New research from the Salk Institute is providing hope for people who suffer from PTSD, panic attacks, migraines, and more.
"Our body has an alarm system that detects danger from the environment or inside our body," explains Dr. Sung Han, an Associate Professor at the Salk Institute and lead researcher for this project. "Sometimes our bodies generate false alarms... We need to understand (what) molecules send the false signal to the brain so that we can block (it)."
After 8 years of studying neurotransmitters, Dr. Salk and his team developed a tool that can track those signals. Their findings were published this summer in the medical journal "Cell."
The research looked at two different neurotransmitters that send warning signals between the brian stem and the amygdala; neuropeptides and glutamates. Glutamates send signals faster. Dr. Han's tool found the false signals are more commonly sent in the slower neuropeptides.
"It turns out that glutamates are not involved in that circuit," he says.
The tool that Dr. Han's team developed for this research is a protein that they can track using fluorescent imaging. Studying mice brains, they were able to track how the signals moved.
"We specifically targeted to the vesicle that packages the neuropeptide, and when it's being released, the fluorescence signals change, and then we can detect that," he explains.
Dr. Han believes that knowing which neurotransmitters are sending those false signals will help medicinal companies develop drugs to block them. That could lead to better treatment for conditions like PTSD.
That could be a game-changer for San Diego's veteran population. A recent report from the National Center for PTSD found 23 percent of vets in VA care suffered from PTSD at some point in their lives.
Some medical companies are already creating drugs to target neuropeptides. Semaglutide and other new weight loss drugs on the market target the neurotransmitters that send the "satiated" or "full" signal to the brain to help people eat less.
Medicine for PTSD, panic attacks, migraines. fibromyalgia and more could work the same way.
"If we can block those signals, I think we may be able to alleviate the symptoms caused by the false alarm," he says.
