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New treatment options for depression may become reality in the future thanks to new research from the University of Victoria
The state of health, which affects more than 300 million people, is one of the leading causes of disability in the world. the highest risk factor for suicide. By examining what is happening in brain cells to better understand how depression occurs, UVic neuroscientist Lisa Kalynchuk and her team hope that their research can help improve the future of people with depression.
Kalynchuk and his team began studying protein called reelin, which is responsible for many cellular interactions in the brain. They found a correlation between decreased levels of reelin and increased levels of depressive symptoms, in animals and in humans.
In laboratory rats suffering from depressive symptoms, a reelin infusion provided immediate relief
in the brain, but also in the immune system, itself linked to depression, "said Kalynchuk, vice- badistant president of UVic research, who worked on research with PhD student Josh Allen, postdoctoral researcher Raquel Romay-Tallon and neuroscientist Hector Caruncho
"We also know that some immune factors are related to the building blocks of cells, so we started thinking about how activities within individual cells could be involved in depression. "
Based on the Division of Medical Sciences of UVic, focused on mitochondria – a cellular component that, among other things, produces energy for cells.
If the mitochondria do not work It is possible that the cells are not able to produce enough reelin, which the research of the team has strongly correlated with depression.
"We are trying to come up with a new neurobiological theory on the causes of depression, it will work faster, in more patients, and with fewer side effects," Kalynchuk said.
Kalynchuk predicts that further studies will identify other cells and systems related to depression. These studies could lead to new treatments, such as repair of mitochondria and other cellular functions, and could eventually lead to alternatives to antidepressants, which are only effective in half of patients with depression.
Kalynchuk is the principal author – Revised Technique, Mitochondria and Mood: Mitochondrial Dysfunction as a Key Actor in the Manifestation of Depression, published in Frontiers in Neuroscience.
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