Study: Postnatal Depression Could Be Treated In Future.
Mother-child relationship is the most affectionate relationship of the world. It is said that the joy experienced after giving birth is unparallel. Motherhood is bliss. But postnatal depression can strain the beautiful bond between mother and the baby. After giving birth, some mothers fall in abyss of depression. Women suffering from postnatal depression are not able to form an affectionate bond with the new born child. Sometimes they are not able to meet the needs of the child.
The study done by the team at the University of California in Los Angeles showed that the postnatal depression is the result of lack of a certain protein. This protein is a part of the system through which hormones affect mood. Receptors in the brain respond to a messenger chemical, gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), which dampens the activity of brain cells. Levels of a particular GABA receptor change considerably during pregnancy. Researchers believe that this fluctuation in GABA levels could be the possible culprit behind post natal depression.
Possible Cause of Postpartum Depression Pinpointed.
[...]Researchers have uncovered a potential cause for postpartum depression, at least in mice. According to the study, from assistant researcher Jamie Maguire and lead researcher Istvan Mody, both of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, dysregulation of a particular class of proteins called GABA receptors on the surface of certain neurons in the brain may induce post-delivery mood disorders ranging from “baby blues” to postpartum psychosis. The findings immediately suggest a possible therapeutic intervention, the authors noted. They also provided researchers with a new animal model for studying the biology and treatment of the disease - a valuable research tool that could accelerate the development of new treatments. Yet the work was not performed in humans, stressed Dr. Bernard Carroll, scientific director of the Pacific Behavioral Research Foundation in California. Just because these animals appear to suffer from a disease akin to postpartum depression, he said, does not mean the [...]Researchers conducted various tests on mice. They found that the mice lacking this protein behaved like the mothers suffering from postnatal depression. These mice didn’t behave normally with their pups leading to death of some pups. When researchers gave them a drug to balance the amount of this protein, the behavior of mice improved towards their young ones. Researchers believe that the findings from these experiments could be applied to postnatal mothers. They are still working on the factors which affect the level of this protein.
According to statistics, 5% to 25% of new mothers suffer from some kind of post-natal depression. Researchers believe that the present research can help many mothers. A researcher said that this research could lead to the development of successful treatment for post natal depression. Dr Delia Belelli, from the University of Dundee who is studying the role of GABA in mood disorders from two decades supported the findings of the research. She added that this theory can be applied to other mood disorders during the menstrual cycle in women.
Source: TopNews US Edition.
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