Not only open up the intestines... Can constipation medicine improve memory?

Recently, a research team from the University of Oxford found that 5-HT4 receptor agonists used to treat constipation can also improve the memory of the human brain.
Based on this, it is expected to develop new cognitive problems for patients with mental illness.
Treatment plan
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Severe mental illness can have a devastating impact on the lives of patients
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In mental illnesses such as severe depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, patients have widespread cognitive impairments, ranging from decreased attention and interrupted working memory to the destruction of social cognition and language systems

A previous experiment showed that drugs targeting 5-HT4 receptors have shown the potential to improve cognitive function in animals
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So, can such drugs be used on the human body as well? The 5-HT4 receptor is one of the receptors for the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) and is expressed in brain regions involved in emotional and cognitive functions, such as the basal ganglia, hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex

In order to avoid adverse reactions as much as possible, the researchers chose an approved 5-HT4 receptor agonist prucalopride (English trade name Motegrity) for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC), compared with placebo, at 44 A healthy volunteer aged 18-36 evaluated the effects of drugs on human brain memory and cognitive functions
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▲The memory test result of the prucalopride group was significantly better than that of the placebo group (picture source: reference [1])

Six days after the administration, the researchers performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans on all volunteers
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Before the brain scan, the volunteers would watch a series of images of animals and landscapes (familiar), and re-view these images and similar images (novel) during the scan

The memory test results showed that the accuracy rate of the placebo group (n=21) was 76%, while that of the prucalopride group (n=23) reached 81%, showing significant cognitive improvement
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In addition, the fMRI scan images of the prucalopride group also showed that the volunteers had increased activity in brain regions related to cognition and memory, such as the hippocampus in the center of the brain and the right corner gyrus (angular gyrus) at the back of the brain

▲The fMRI scan image showed that the signal activation of the hippocampus in the prucalopride group was stronger than that in the placebo group (picture source: reference [1])

In summary, the experimental data demonstrates the potential effect of 5-HT4 receptor activation on enhancing human brain memory and supports the potential of this receptor as a therapeutic target for cognitive impairment

The researchers plan to conduct further studies to observe the clinical effects of prucalopride and other 5-HT4 receptor agonists in patients and clinically susceptible populations

Note: The original text has been deleted

Reference materials:

[1] Murphy, S.

[2] Intestinal drug shown to boost memory and cognition.