Researchers uncover mechanisms of brexanolone and the role of inflammation in post-partum depression
A research team led by A. Leslie Morrow, PhD, the John Andrews Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology in the UNC School of Medicine, has found that brexanolone works within the body by inhibiting the key systemic inflammatory pathways that are associated with depression. The new finding is monumental in that it suggests that PPD is likely caused, at least in part, by inflammation.
Their results were published in eBioMedicine.
The study indicates that the therapeutic effects of brexanolone are likely caused by its ability to inhibit toll-like receptor pathways and reduce inflammatory markers, since the inhibition of these pathways predicted therapeutic efficacy in the study. Since the same inflammatory markers have been shown to be up-regulated in PPD, it is likely that the condition is caused, at least in part, by inflammation.
By the same reasoning, other forms of depression that exhibit the elevation of inflammatory markers may also respond to brexanolone or other anti-inflammatory compounds. The team hopes that their new findings may lead to more cost-effective treatments that can block the same inflammatory pathways that were identified in the study.
