Clue found to postnatal depression
Thursday, 31 Jul 2008 08:20
Scientists say the discovery could help to treat postnatal depression
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A new study claims to have pinpointed a mechanism that could explain why some mothers suffer from postnatal depression.
Scientists behind the discovery hope it will help to lead to improved treatment for the condition.
The researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, created a model of postnatal depression in mice by genetically engineering them so that they lacked a protein critical for adapting to the sex hormone fluctuations of pregnancy and the period after birth.
They found that after giving birth, female mice deficient in the protein showed depression-like behaviours, such as being more lethargic.
They also shunned their pups and failed to make proper nests for them.
When they were given a drug to restore the protein's function, maternal behaviour improved and the number of pups that died was reduced.
"For the first time, we may have a highly useful model of postpartum depression," said Dr Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, which supported the study.
"The new research also points to a specific potential new target in the brain for medications to treat this disorder that affects 15 per cent of women after they give birth."
The study is published in the journal Neuron.