Yale scientists have discovered that physical exercise enhances the activity of a gene called VGF, which has an antidepressant effect in mice.
Depression afflicts 16 percent of the U.S. population and carries an annual price tag of $83 billion. Pharmaceutical products currently used to treat depression help about 65 percent of patients but require anywhere from weeks to months to kick in.
Unlike common antidepressant drugs, VGF is already present in the brain, making it an attractive target for therapy, says senior author Ronald Duman, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Yale School of Medicine.
