U.K. researchers at Lincoln University have discovered that tricyclic antidepressants help reduce the risk of brain and bowel cancer, reports the Daily Mail.
The team analyzed 31,953 cancer cases and found that people taking tricyclic antidepressants had a 64 percent lower risk of glioma-type brain tumors, and a 21 percent lower risk of bowel cancer.
The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, found the drugs had little or no effect on cancers of the lung, breast, and prostate.
In recent times, this type of antidepressant has been largely replaced in clinical use in most parts of the world by newer antidepressants, which typically have more favorable side-effects profiles.
Common side effects of tricyclic antidepressants may include dry mouth, dry nose, blurry vision, lowered gastrointestinal motility or constipation, urinary retention, cognitive or memory impairment, and increased body temperature.
Photo credit: Razvan Ionut Graur/FreeDigitalPhotos.net