In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine on Sunday, researchers reported that Amitriptyline, which is known in the market under such names as Elavil, Endep and Vanatrip -- reduces levels in the lung of a fatty molecule called ceramide.
Scientists explained that the buildup of ceramide leads to the death of lung cells and inflammation, causing bacterial infection, which is the leading cause of mortality among people with cystic fibrosis.
Cystic fibrosis is caused by mutations in a gene called CFTR, which causes a thick layer of mucus to line the lungs. Approximately 80,000 people in the US and northern Europe have cystic fibrosis, and despite the best efforts of doctors, many of these have chronic lung infections, which can lower their life expectancy. The damage caused by infections is often irreversible, and when it reaches a certain point, the only option may be a lung transplant.
The study, led by Erich Gulbins of the University of Duisburg-Essen in western Germany, was conducted on cells taken from 18 adult volunteers with cystic fibrosis and on mice that had been genetically modified to reproduce the symptoms of the disease.
According to the authors, Amitriptyline drugs, commonly-used tricyclic antidepressants, are known to block the production of ceramide, and when these were given to mice, levels of the fat reverted to normal, and the animals were healthier, with less susceptability to infection.
The article noted that even though no experiments have been carried out in humans, their results of their Amitriptyline study on mice could be an important new way of tackling the disease.
