According researchers an injection of genes to brain could help in treating severe depression. Depressions affect millions of people around the globe, with women more than double more prone to be beaten down by the condition than men. People use anti-depressants but they do not work for everyone and can cause side effects.
The side effects of anti-depressant may include nausea, vomiting, anxiety, headaches, insomnia and suicidal thoughts. Though an injection into the brain appears like a radical treatment and researchers believe that it could be a pragmatic solution for severe depression.
The gene called p11 is one of several genes which seem to play a key role in development of depression. Examination of the brains of deceased patients with depression revealed that they had significantly lower levels of p11 in an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens.
It is believed to function by regulating the brain chemical serotonin that helps controlling mood, appetite and sleep. In series of trails by US researchers found that mice were unable to make protein which helps to regulate brain chemicals key to mood became depressed.
But when they were provided with injections of the genes that make the protein elevated their mood to such an extent that they became identical to normal mice. The research teams from Weill-Cornell Medical Centre and Rockefeller University, then confirmed if protein also play key a role in human form of the disease.
Brain autopsies of a brain region key to experiencing delight, of deceased patients with depression showed lower levels of p11. By sustaining adequate levels of this particular protein p11, in this pleasure-reward area of the brain may be vital for preventing or treating depression, explained Nobel Prize winner Dr Michael Kaplitt.
He added that they potentially have a new treatment to target what they now believe is one root cause of human depression. Existing therapies for depression treat symptoms but not underlying causes and while that works for many patients, those with advanced depression, or depression that does not respond to medication, could hopefully benefit from their new approach.