Fampridine is currently used to improve walking ability in multiple sclerosis. A new study shows it could also help people with reduced working memory, as evidenced by mental health problems like schizophrenia or depression.
Remember a code long enough to enter it; hold a conversation and respond appropriately to what is said: In everyday situations like these, we use our working memory. It allows you to actively retain a memory for a few seconds. Certain pathologies, such as schizophrenia or depression, as well as ADHD, impair working memory. Affected people lose track of conversations and have difficulty organizing their thoughts.
Fampridine is a drug that could help in such cases, as researchers led by Professors Andreas Papassotiropoulos and Dominique de Quervain from the University of Basel have shown. The team reported their findings in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
Effective only if working memory is weak
In their study, the researchers tested the effectiveness of fampridine on working memory in 43 healthy adults. It was in participants whose basic working memory was weak that fampridine showed a more pronounced effect: after taking the active substance for three days, they performed better on the corresponding tests than those who took the placebo. In contrast, in people who already had good basic working memory, the drug showed no effect.
The researchers also observed that fampridine increased brain excitability in all participants, allowing faster processing of stimuli. The study was randomized and double-blind.
Established drug, new application
Fampridine does not improve working memory in everyone. But it could be a treatment option for people with reduced working memory. »
Professor Andreas Papassotiropoulos, University of Basel
Dominique de Quervain adds: “This is why, in collaboration with researchers from the University Psychiatric Clinics Basel (UPK), we are planning studies to test the effectiveness of fampridine in schizophrenia and depression. »
The drug is currently used to improve walking ability in multiple sclerosis (MS). Particularly in the form of capsules, which slowly release the active ingredient into the body, fampridine has shown effects on the cognitive performance of MS patients: for some, it alleviates the mental fatigue that can accompany MS.
The researchers didn’t select the drug at random: this study followed extensive analyzes of genomic data to find starting points for repurposing established drugs. Fampridine acts on specific ion channels in nerve cells which, according to the researchers’ analyses, also play a role in mental disorders such as schizophrenia.
