Depression drugs may rely on snail

An ocean-dwelling snail might hold the key to better drugs to treat conditions ranging from depression to Parkinson's.

University of Utah researchers have isolated an unusual nerve toxin from a cone snail species, Conus omaria, which is less than 4 inches long and lives in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Researchers say the toxin fits like a key into certain lock-like receptors found on nerve cells in the brain and throughout the body. It might help develop drugs for a wide range of nervous-system disorders including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's disease, depression, nicotine addiction and perhaps even schizophrenia.

Discovery of the new cone snail toxin appears in the most recent Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Working past age 62 a threat to mental health

Working past retirement age can be hazardous to your mental health.

A study of 1,044 Americans who were ages 51-61 in 1992, and who were interviewed every two years through 2004, found that nearly 30 percent were still working for pay after age 62.

Nearly 40 percent of older men had expected to take early retirement, and 60 percent of older women had expected to still be working after age 62. In both cases, their satisfaction with their lives was lower than that of their retired peers.

The only group that was more satisfied with their lives if they kept working after 62 were younger, less educated people who tended to be ambivalent about early retirement.

The analysis, conducted by University of Michigan sociologist Philippa Clarke, was presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.