Researchers have shown that nicotine may have some value in fighting advanced depression.

Some elderly people with advanced depression (LLD) have no response to antidepressant drugs during treatment. A new study  shows that “nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists )” (including nicotine) may have a healing effect on depression.

Depression can cause illnesses such as low mood and poor cognitive abilities for the elderly over 60. Nicotine is well known to enhance cognitive function. According to researchers' findings in animal studies, the drug can effectively improve depressive behavior in animal models and help improve the mood of patients with depression.

The researchers proposed a future clinical trial plan to study whether nicotine (through nicotine patches, such as the recently popular NRT Nicoderm patch) will have a positive therapeutic effect on elderly people with advanced depression.

The three authors of the study are all from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, including Paul Newhouse of the Vanderbilt Center for Cognitive Medicine — he used to do nicotine A lot of related research. In 2008, Paul showed that non-smoking ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) patients who use nicotine patches can perform more cognitive tasks than patients who wear placebo patches. In 2015, Paul has started research on nicotine patches to alleviate the symptoms of amnesia in elderly people with mild dementia.