Researchers are studying how pregnant women with depression respond to antidepressants

Researchers are studying how pregnant women with depression respond to antidepressants

Using a combination of biomarkers and mood assessments, researchers will study how pregnant women suffering from depression respond to various antidepressants in a clinical trial funded by a National Institutes of Health grant to UTHealth Houston. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, depression affects about 12% of pregnant women.

The goal of the study, led by Laura Goetzl, MD, and Sudhakar Selvaraj, MD, PhD, of McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, is to develop a new testing paradigm to quickly identify women who respond to antidepressants. At the same time, researchers will study how these antidepressants might affect the developing baby's brain.

Goetzl, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at McGovern Medical School, will examine maternal blood samples before and after starting antidepressant medication to determine the effect of treatment on fetal brain messages found in maternal blood. These messages are found in small particles called extracellular vesicles that are released from the fetal brain, cross the placenta, and enter the maternal bloodstream, carrying proteins and other biomarkers. Goetzl will also test maternal blood from the third trimester to identify markers of risk of neonatal withdrawal or neonatal abstinence syndrome from the antidepressant.

We can predict which mothers will respond and which will not by looking at the messages coming from their brains and how their brains respond to the medication. The new thing about our research is that we can separate signals that come specifically from the baby's brain from the mother's blood as well. This gives us a non-invasive insight into what happens in the baby’s brain before and after taking antidepressants.”

Laura Goetzl, MD, vice chair, Division of Translational Research, UTHealth Houston

Mothers taking an antidepressant are assessed using specific questionnaires and mood scales to determine whether their depression improves while taking the medication. At the same time, their blood-based markers will be measured throughout treatment during pregnancy.

“Mental health during pregnancy is a largely ignored area,” said Selvaraj, associate professor and director of the Depression Research Program in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School, Louis A. Faillace, MD. "Depression during pregnancy is a very serious problem that affects mother and child, and most women do not receive adequate evaluation or treatment. If there is a marker to identify which prescribed medication is working, we can provide the correct treatment and reduce the number of medications." Problems.”

Source:

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

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