14 DAY TRIAL // Investigators with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have determined in a new study that changes affecting the microglia can lead to depressive symptoms following exposure to chronic stress. These conclusions were drawn following a study conducted on animals, so they need to be tested on humans before they can be accepted.
While depression in itself is relatively well understood, the biological mechanisms involved in triggering it are not. Finding out more about them is absolutely essential for public health, since statistics from the World Health Organization indicate that this disorder is the leading cause of disability around the world.
Each year, up to 7 percent of the global population will experience a major depressive episode. One in six people around the world will suffer from depression sometime in their life, EurekAlert reports. The new study finds a new avenue through which the brain can become depressed.
The team led by professor Raz Yirmiya argues that changes affecting microglia, a type of brain cells that are not neurons, can lead to the development of symptoms associated with depression. However, this only happens after animal test subjects were exposed to chronic, high-level stress.