A small clinical trial published in Psychological Medicine on June 15, 2026, found that prucalopride, a medication approved to treat chronic constipation, improved performance on tests of memory, attention, and processing speed in adults with a history of depression after approximately one week of treatment. The study, led by Dr. Angharad de Cates from the University of Birmingham and colleagues at the University of Oxford, offers the first randomized evidence that this class of drug may specifically address cognitive symptoms that persist in patients with depression even after their mood has recovered.
The drug, sold under the brand name Resolor in the United Kingdom and Motegrity in the United States, is already on pharmacy shelves for its approved constipation indication. The finding that it also produces measurable improvement in post-depression cognitive function after only a short course of treatment is driving significant interest in whether it could be formally evaluated and eventually approved for a new psychiatric indication.
