The most dramatic consequence of depression is none other than suicide. According to a study, depressed people who have killed themselves voluntarily have one thing in common. This is found in the cellular composition of their brain. Researchers have cited "astrocytic dysfunction" as one cause of suicide.
Often referred to as clinical depression, depression is a mental disorder whose worst possible consequence is suicide. According to a study by the Academy of Medicine conducted in France and published in 2014, 5 to 20% of depressed patients commit suicide. In addition, the risk is three times greater in men than in women. The causes of depression are obviously multiple, but one of these has just been the subject of a study available in the journal Frontiers in Psychatry since February 4, 2021.
Researchers at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute of McGill University (Quebec) have indeed mentioned astrocytic dysfunction as one of the causes of depression. According to Naguib Mechawar, co-author of the study, many regions of the brain in adults suffering from depression and who died by suicide had a reduced number of astrocytes. However, astrocytes are cells supporting the optimal functioning of neurons of the brain. A 2017 study even suggested that these cells could be a key part of our biological clock.
You should know that these conclusions were made thanks to to post-mortem analyses. Naguib Mechawar then took the opportunity to extol the merits of donating tissue to scientific research. The latter makes it possible to better understand the cellular and molecular dysfunctions underlying brain disorders. By extension, donating tissue to research enables the development of better treatments.
According to the researchers, the brain tissue analyzed came from two groups of patients . The first consisted of people who died brutally without any psychiatric disorder. The second consisted of patients who died by suicide due to clinical depression. Scientists reported counting the number of astrocytes in cross-sections of the brain using a microscope to estimate the number in each region.
You should know that today, no antidepressant has the mission of directly targeting astrocytes . Nevertheless, the McGill University study could pave the way for the development of suitable treatments. Moreover, the researchers are optimistic, because the study revealed good news. If the patients of the two groups had a different number of astrocytes, the structure of these cells was similar and therefore had not undergone any alteration. For scientists, the objective would therefore rather be to reinforce the production of new astrocytes in depressed patients.
The study in question has a limitation, however. Indeed, the samples analyzed all came from male patients . The researchers indicated that in future research they will incorporate samples from female patients.
