The Effects of Antidepressant
A grant has been approved by the National Institutes of Health for a clinical trial in which researchers will use a mix of biomarkers and mood evaluations to determine the response rate of different antidepressant consumption in pregnant women. As per the research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, depression affects around 12.5% of pregnant women.
The main purpose of the study is to create a new model of testing to identify how pregnant women respond to antidepressants. Another factor that will be assessed in pregnant women is the amount of damage that could affect the brain of the unborn baby through the consumption of antidepressants by the mother. The study will be conducted at a medical school in Houston.
Goetzl is a professor in the Gynecology department of McGovern Medical School who will study blood samples from the mother’s side before and after the consumption of the antidepressant drug. Goetzl will also examine the blood samples from the mother’s side from the third trimester for indicators of newborn withdrawal from the antidepressant. The study will determine how this therapy affects the messages from the fetal brain detected in maternal blood. These instructions are carried by extracellular vesicles, small particles released from the fetal brain and enter the maternal bloodstream containing mostly proteins.
Mothers who are consuming the antidepressant medication will be examined with the help of mood scales and questionnaires to see whether the depression improves with the prescribed consumption of the drug. During the pregnancy therapy phase, blood-based indicators will also be tracked.
Several studies from the past have shown a relationship between the usage of antidepressants during pregnancy and disorders in children such as autism. Presently, all previous studies have been considered void as they were not experimental but rather observational and were unsuccessful in considering multiple health issues such as obesity, stress, digestion, etc. Depression can also lead to patients not taking proper self-care of themselves, skipping meals, consuming tobacco, alcohol, etc.
Laura Goetzl, Deputy Chairperson, Department of Research stated:
“We will be able to determine the response percentage of mothers by analyzing the effectiveness of drugs on the brain by analyzing the messages sent by their brains. Another innovative aspect of our research is that the signals from the child’s brain in the mother’s blood can be segregated. This helps us look after the medication’s before-after effect in the baby’s brain”.
Louis from the Psychiatry Department said:
“Depression is a major issue that significantly affects the baby and the mother during pregnancy. It has been analyzed that many women don’t focus on finding ways of treatment and solutions to this problem. If there is any authenticity on what medication to consume then the patients can be treated and the percentage of potential cases can be reduced significantly”
s on Pregnant Women
