Landmark Stress-Depression Research Published

Two recent studies crack the code of stress and depression, and help us see why depression is so widespread and intractable, as well as giving hints about new treatments.

An Australian study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry shows more than a fifth of the population has a genetic predisposition to depression in response to a series of stressful life events. Previous research has pinpointed various genes related to depression, but this is the first large study to discern what percentage of the population has these genes. The answer: about 21%.

Not surprisingly, the environmental trigger is stress. According to the landmark research from Brain Sciences (University of New South Wales), people exposed to three or more negative life events in a year, have an 80 percent chance of becoming depressed - if they have the genetic predisposition.

You can read about the Australian study here.

Another study reveals that the stress that causes depression actually impacts the brain on a molecular level.

The research, funded by NIMH and reported in Nature Neuroscience, provides insight into how chronic stress triggers actual scaring on a molecular level in the brain. These changes are deeper and much more long lasting than the effects of existing antidepressants, which only alleviate the symptoms. "To really cure depression, we probably need to find new treatments," concluded the lead researcher.

Read about it here.