New antidepressant: 'Exercise pill'?

Researchers have known for a while that exercise improves mood (actually, I suspect exercisers have known this for a while too), although the link isn't particularly clear yet. However, some new research seems to indicate that the mood-enhancing benefits of exercise might someday translate into a better form of antidepressant:

The latest research focuses on an area of the brain called the hippocampus, which is already established as a target for antidepressant drugs.

The team developed a test to see which genes in this region were made more active during exercise, and highlighted one called VGF.

This gene is linked to a "growth factor" chemical involved in the development of nerve cells.

This fitted with their theory that, for depression to lift, changes in the actual structure and links between brain cells are needed, not just changes in the chemicals surrounding the cells.

The next step was to make a version of that chemical, and to test it on mice, where it showed an effect on their behaviour that roughly equated to antidepressant effects in humans.

The researchers believe that a drug based on VGF could offer "possibly even superior efficacy" to current antidepressants.

Of course, when I saw the phrase "exercise pill" in the headline of the article, I immediately thought of a pill that would tone my body and help me lose weight while I sat on the couch playing video games, but I guess I'll settle for antidepressants with "superior efficacy."