In a path breaking scientific disclosure, the Hyderabad based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has shed new light on the link between Cholesterol-lowering drugs and the mood disorders in human beings. <br/><br/>CCMB director Dr Ch. Mohan Rao revealed at a press conference in Hyderabad on Thursday that the centre has established the molecular link between the Cholesterol depletion levels in the brain and mood disorders like anxiety and depression. <br/><br/>A team of researchers led by Dr Amitabh Chattopadhyaya has found out that the long term use of cholesterol lowering drugs, ‘Statins’ would cause significant change in the structure and function of Serotonin receptors, the neurotransmitters in the brain that controls mood and behaviour. <br/><br/>Though the world knows that the long term use of cholesterol-lowering drugs would lead to depleted levels of cholesterol in Brian, the CCMB research has for the first time revealed the molecular reason for that, the director added. Dr Chattopadhyaya has said the study assumes broader significance as the function of serotonin receptors has been implicated in anxiety and mood disorders.<br/><br/>The Cholesterol-lowering drugs have a Rs 1000 crore market in the country and $25 billion annual market across the globe.<br/><br/>The research has also been published online in Biochemistry, an international Science Journal from the USA.