Severe Depression Is Finally Loosing Its Grip

Posted: 2/10/2019  Updated: 3/22/2019

Update Of 3/22/2019

Just read When neurons are out of shape, antidepressants may not work (Source 1, published 3/22/2019; 2) here is a partially corresponding Salk Institute news release: When Neurons Get The Blues: Hyperactive Brain Cells May Be To Blame When Antidepressants Don'T Work published 1/31/2019; 3) here is the underlying original research paper Altered serotonergic circuitry in SSRI-resistant major depressive disorder patient-derived neurons published 3/22/2019)

Looks like the Salk Institute may have found an explanation why a significant number of patients do not respond to the most commonly prescribed antidepressants selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants a.k.a. SSRI resistance.  

Some pertinent quotes (emphasis added):

1. “... When serotonin was present, some neurons derived from SSRI non-responders had significantly higher activity on average compared to the neurons of healthy individuals or SSRI responders. ...” (Source 2)
2. “... two particular serotonin receptors (out of seven known in the human brain), 5-HT2A and 5-HT7. When these receptors were blocked with a chemical compound, the neurons of non-responders were no longer hyperactive in the presence of serotonin ...” (Source 2)
3. “... serotonergic neurons exhibited altered neurite growth and morphology downstream of lowered expression of key Protocadherin alpha genes as compared to healthy controls” (Source 3)
4. “... intrinsic differences in serotonergic neuron morphology and the resulting circuitry may contribute to SSRI resistance in MDD [major depressive disorder] patients”

Original Post

Just read this great article: Brain-zapping implants that fight depression are inching closer to reality Researchers are resetting the part of the brain that can shift mood

This article is very comprehensive, has quite a bit of historical context, covers several treatment methods, contains intuitive graphics, and much more. Highly recommendable!

We have to be very grateful to those patients with epilepsy who participated in this research. Thanks to these patients we will be seeing a lot more insights about the workings of our brain in the months and years to come. This is very exciting!

For lack of time, I keep this post very short.