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News Release : Nov 3, 2009  Marla Paul - Northwestern/EurekAlert

"This is a huge study and statistically powerful."

EDITOR'S NOTE: While the findings of this study are significant, in printing this story, BCN is not saying that people should not take antidepressants. There are many circumstances where current antidepressant drugs used have made an immense difference in a person's life who experiences depression. Obviously, God can choose to work through anything, antidepressants included. However, it's good to know that further study is being done in this field, which should result in more accurate treatments. –Aimee Herd, BCN.

(Chicago, Illinois)—More than half the people who take antidepressants for depression never get relief. Why? Because the cause of depression has been oversimplified, and the drugs designed to treat it aim at the wrong target, according to new research from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The medications are like arrows shot at the outer rings of a bull's eye instead of the center.

A study from the laboratory of long-time depression researcher Eva Redei, presented at the Neuroscience 2009 conference in Chicago [recently] appears to topple two strongly held beliefs about depression. One is that stressful life events are a major cause of depression. The other is that an imbalance in neurotransmitters in the brain triggers depressive symptoms. (Photo by: Sanja Gjenero)

Both findings are significant because these beliefs were the basis for developing drugs currently used to treat depression.

Redei, the David Lawrence Stein Professor of Psychiatry at Northwestern's Feinberg School, found powerful molecular evidence that quashes the long-held dogma that stress is generally a major cause of depression. Her new research reveals that there is almost no overlap between stress-related genes and depression-related genes.

"This is a huge study and statistically powerful," Redei said. "This research opens up new routes to develop new antidepressants that may be more effective. There hasn't been an antidepressant based on a novel concept in 20 years."

Most animal models that are used by scientists to test antidepressants are based on the hypothesis that stress causes depression. "They stress the animals and look at their behavior," she said. "Then they manipulate the animals' behavior with drugs and say, 'OK, these are going to be good anti-depressants.' But they are not treating depression; they are treating stress."

That is one key reason why current antidepressants aren't doing a great job, Redei noted. She is now looking at the genes that differ in the depressed rat to narrow down targets for drug development.

She said another reason current antidepressants are often ineffective is that they aim to boost neurotransmitters based on the popular molecular explanation of depression, which is that it's the result of decreased levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. But that's wrong, Redei said.

Follow the link provided to read the report in its entirety.

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