Antidepressant failure linked to deformed brain cells



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When antidepressants work as expected, the results can change the lives of patients with depression. For about 30% of patients, however, the popular clbad of antidepressants called SSRIs simply does not work. Researchers have been questioning this unexplained failure for years, but a new study could finally provide the answer: out of shape neurons.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most popular treatment for depression, but many people do not respond to treatment, forcing them to take dopamine-based solutions. For a small group of sufferers, the depressant is clbadified as resistant to treatment after several medications have failed to provide relief.

The difference between people who respond to SSRIs and people who continue to suffer may be differences in growth patterns for neurons that use serotonin, a neurotransmitter, for communication. A clinical study of 800 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) found that non-responders SSRIs had "out of shape" neurons compared to people responding to SSRI treatment.

The research involved the creation of serotonergic neurons from study participants who provided skin samples used to produce pluripotent stem cells. By studying these serotonergic neurons, the team noticed a difference in the shape of the neurons. In non-responders, neurons had longer neuronal projections than responders, as well as lower levels of important genes related to neural circuit development.

According to the study, these two unusual features could pave the way for excessive neuronal communication in some parts of the brain, but would result in a lack of adequate communication in other regions. This messy communication may answer the question of why SSRIs are not effective for some patients, but reverse the disorder in others.

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