Project description:INTRODUCTION:The prevalence of postnatal depression (PND) is significant: reaching up to 20% in the general population. In mechanistic terms, the risk of PND lies in an interaction between a maternal psychophysiological vulnerability and a chronic environmental context of stress. On the one hand, repetition of stressor during pregnancy mimics a chronic stress model that is relevant to the study of the allostatic load and the adaptive mechanisms. On the other hand, vulnerability factors reflect a psychological profile mirroring mindfulness functioning (psychological quality that involves bringing one's complete and non-judgemental attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis). This psychological resource is linked to protective and resilient psychic functioning. Thus, PND appears to be a relevant model for studying the mechanisms of chronic stress and vulnerability to psychopathologies.In this article, we present the protocol of an ongoing study (started in May 2017). METHODS AND ANALYSIS:The study is being carried out in five maternities and will involve 260 women. We aim to determine the predictive psychobiological factors for PND emergence and to provide a better insight into the mechanisms involved in chronic stress during pregnancy. We use a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses psychological resources and biophysiological and genetic profiles in order to detect relevant vulnerability biomarkers for chronic stress and the development of PND. To do so, each woman will be involved in the study from her first trimester of pregnancy until 12 months postdelivery. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:Ethics approval was obtained from the Ile de France III Ethics Committee, France (2016-A00887-44). We aim to disseminate the findings through international conferences and international peer-reviewed journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:NCT03088319; Pre-results.
Project description:Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a critical effector of depression-like behaviors and antidepressant responses. Here, we show that VGF (non-acronymic), which is robustly regulated by BDNF/TrkB signaling, is downregulated in hippocampus (male/female) and upregulated in nucleus accumbens (NAc) (male) in depressed human subjects and in mice subjected to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-Cre-mediated Vgf ablation in floxed VGF mice, in dorsal hippocampus (dHc) or NAc, led to pro-depressant or antidepressant behaviors, respectively, while dHc- or NAc-AAV-VGF overexpression induced opposite outcomes. Mice with reduced VGF levels in the germ line (Vgf+/-) or in dHc (AAV-Cre-injected floxed mice) showed increased susceptibility to CSDS and impaired responses to ketamine treatment in the forced swim test. Floxed mice with conditional pan-neuronal (Synapsin-Cre) but not those with forebrain (?CaMKII-Cre) Vgf ablation displayed increased susceptibility to subthreshold social defeat stress, suggesting that neuronal VGF, expressed in part in inhibitory interneurons, regulates depression-like behavior. Acute antibody-mediated sequestration of VGF-derived C-terminal peptides AQEE-30 and TLQP-62 in dHc induced pro-depressant effects. Conversely, dHc TLQP-62 infusion had rapid antidepressant efficacy, which was reduced in BDNF floxed mice injected in dHc with AAV-Cre, and in NBQX- and rapamycin-pretreated wild-type mice, these compounds blocking ?-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, respectively. VGF is therefore a critical modulator of depression-like behaviors in dHc and NAc. In hippocampus, the antidepressant response to ketamine is associated with rapid VGF translation, is impaired by reduced VGF expression, and as previously reported, requires coincident, rapid BDNF translation and release.
Project description:Epigenetic modifications control chromatin structure and function, and thus mediate changes in gene expression, ultimately influencing protein levels. Recent research indicates that environmental events can induce epigenetic changes and, by this, contribute to long-term changes in neural circuits and endocrine systems associated with altered risk for stress-related psychiatric disorders such as major depression. In this review, we describe recent approaches investigating epigenetic modifications associated with altered risk for major depression or response to antidepressant drugs, both on the candidate gene levels as well as the genome-wide level. In this review we focus on DNA methylation, as this is the most investigated epigenetic change in depression research.
Project description:Studies of antidepressant safety in pregnancy typically do not address complex patterns of use throughout pregnancy. We performed longitudinal trajectory modeling to describe patterns of antidepressant use in the first 32 weeks of pregnancy, and test whether these trajectories are associated with a reduction in birth weight or gestational age at delivery. Our study included 166 pregnant women with deliveries between 2011 and 2015 who were prescribed an antidepressant between 91 days prior to last menstrual period and 32 weeks of gestation. From electronic medical records, we estimated average daily dose and cumulative dose per week for the first 32 weeks of gestation and for the first 13 weeks postnatal. We clustered women with similar utilization patterns using k-means longitudinal modeling and assessed the associations between trajectory group and birth weight and gestational age at delivery. We identified four cumulative dose trajectory groups and three average daily dose trajectory groups in each period. Relative to the lowest trajectory group, the highest trajectory group during pregnancy was associated with reduced birth weight in multivariable analysis (average daily highest trajectory vs. lowest trajectory β - 314.1 g, 95% CI - 613.7, - 15.5) adjusted for depression severity score, maternal age, race, and pregnancy smoking. Trajectory groups were not associated with gestational age at delivery. The highest trajectory group of antidepressant use in pregnancy was associated with a modest reduction in birth weight but not with gestational age at delivery. Longitudinal trajectories allow for a dynamic visualization and quantification of medication use among pregnant women.
Project description:Whether depression and antidepressant (AD) use might influence breast cancer risk is unclear, and these exposures have not been evaluated together in a single, prospective cohort study of breast cancer risk.Among 71,439 postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI-OS), we estimated multivariable-adjusted HRs for the independent and joint effects of depressive symptoms and AD use on breast cancer risk using Cox proportional hazards regression.When analyzed separately, neither depressive symptoms nor AD use at baseline were associated with a significantly increased risk of total breast cancer (HR = 0.96, 95% CI, 0.85-1.08; HR = 1.04, 95% CI, 0.92-1.20, respectively) or invasive breast cancer (HR = 0.98, 95% CI, 0.86-1.12; HR = 1.00, 95% CI, 0.86-1.16, respectively). Current AD use was associated with a borderline-significant increase of in situ breast cancer (HR = 1.30, 95% CI, 0.99-1.75) after adjustment for depressive symptoms; however, this relationship was attenuated after adjustment for mammographic screening (HR = 1.08, 95% CI, 0.76-1.51). No significant variation in total breast cancer risk was observed when the separate and joint effects of depressive symptoms and AD use were explored (P for interaction = 0.14).We found no evidence that either depression or AD use influences breast cancer risk. An elevated risk of in situ disease among AD users could not be ruled out, though is likely due to increased screening in this subgroup.Given the high prevalence of these exposures, these results may provide reassurance to the millions of women who are depressed and/or use ADs each year.
Project description:This study examined the relationship between the number of prior antidepressant treatment trials and step-wise increase in pharmacodynamic tolerance (or progressive loss of effectiveness) in subjects with bipolar II depression.Subjects ?18 years old with bipolar II depression (n=129) were randomized to double-blind venlafaxine or lithium carbonate monotherapy for 12 weeks. Responders (n=59) received continuation monotherapy for six additional months.After controlling for baseline covariates of prior medications, there was a 25% reduction in the likelihood of response to treatment with each increase in the number of prior antidepressant trials (odds ratio [OR]=0.75, unstandardized coefficient [B]=-0.29, standard error (SE)=0.12; ?2 =5.70, P<.02], as well as a 32% reduction in the likelihood of remission with each prior antidepressant trial (OR=0.68, B=-0.39, SE=0.13; ?2 =9.71, P=.002). This step-wise increase in pharmacodynamic tolerance occurred in both treatment conditions. Prior selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy was specifically associated with a step-wise increase in tolerance, whereas other prior antidepressants or mood stabilizers were not associated with pharmacodynamic tolerance. Neither the number of prior antidepressants, nor the number of prior SSRIs, or mood stabilizers, were associated with an increase in relapse during continuation therapy.The odds of responding or remitting during venlafaxine or lithium monotherapy were reduced by 25% and 32%, respectively, with each increase in the number of prior antidepressant treatment trials. There was no relationship between prior antidepressant exposure and depressive relapse during continuation therapy of bipolar II disorder.
Project description:BackgroundA significant proportion of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) failed to respond to antidepressant medications. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an effective option for treating such treatment-resistant patients with MDD (TRD). Reliable clinical predictors for antidepressant responses to rTMS remain elusive.MethodsIn total, 212 patients with MDD who failed to respond to at least one adequate antidepressant trial and had a detailed evaluation before rTMS were recruited for chart review. Demographic data, clinical characteristics, psychiatric comorbidities, symptom ratings [e.g., objective and subjective depression, life stress, depression refractoriness by Maudsley Staging Method (MSM)], and antidepressant treatment responses were analyzed.ResultsMSM-subitem1 (duration of current depressive episode; Beta = 0.209, p = 0.004), MSM-subitem5 (a history of ECT treatment; Beta = -0.210, p = 0.004), and psychiatric admissions (Beta = 0.241, p = 0.001) predicted antidepressant response of rTMS treatment. ECT was underutilized (only 3.3%). Psychiatric admissions [Exp(B) = 1.382, p = 0.021], a comorbidity of OCD [0.047, 0.005], and life stress level [0.984, 0.029] predicted the history of ECT treatment.ConclusionSeveral clinical variables (e.g., number of psychiatric admissions, OCD as a comorbidity, and life stress level) were reliable clinical factors associated with antidepressant responses of rTMS treatment and may be utilized in combination with MSM subitems to evaluate levels of TRD.
Project description:BACKGROUND:There is evidence for the cost-effectiveness of health visitor (HV) training to assess postnatal depression (PND) and deliver psychological approaches to women at risk of depression. Whether this approach is cost-effective for lower-risk women is unknown. There is a need to know the cost of HV-delivered universal provision, and how much it might cost to improve health-related quality of life for postnatal women. A sub-study of a cluster-randomised controlled trial in the former Trent region (England) previously investigated the effectiveness of PoNDER HV training in mothers at lower risk of PND. We conducted a parallel cost-effectiveness analysis at 6-months postnatal for all mothers with lower-risk status attributed to an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score <12 at 6-weeks postnatal. METHODS:Intervention HVs were trained in assessment and cognitive behavioural or person-centred psychological support techniques to prevent depression. Outcomes examined: quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gains over the period between 6 weeks and 6 months derived from SF-6D (from SF-36); risk-of-depression at 6 months (dichotomising 6-month EPDS scores into lower risk (<12) and at-risk (⩾12). RESULTS:In lower-risk women, 1474 intervention (63 clusters) and 767 control participants (37 clusters) had valid 6-week and 6-month EPDS scores. Costs and outcomes data were available for 1459 participants. 6-month adjusted costs were £82 lower in intervention than control groups, with 0.002 additional QALY gained. The probability of cost-effectiveness at £20 000 was very high (99%). CONCLUSIONS:PoNDER HV training was highly cost-effective in preventing symptoms of PND in a population of lower-risk women and cost-reducing over 6 months.