According to an American study, depression affects brain regions unequally, which opens the way to targeted therapies.
- About 16-17% of individuals will have at least one depressive episode during their lifetime (source: FondaMental).
- In 15 to 30% of cases of depression, the standard therapeutic strategies offered remain ineffective, according to the FondaMental Foundation.
The level of depression felt by a patient would depend on the area of the brain that is affected by a lesion: this is essentially the result of a study presented at the 35th European Congress of Neuropharmacology, in Vienna and published in Brain.
Depression affects the two cerebral hemispheres differently
Indeed, by comparing the MRIs and depression scores of 526 patients who had localized areas of brain damage following a stroke or other type of traumatic brain injury, the researchers were able to map areas”at risk” compared to areas of “resilience” – where the depression felt was less.
In detail, it appears that the regions at “risk” maximum include the bilateral anterior insula, the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. The regions at “resilience“maximum include the right orbitofrontal cortex, the right medial prefrontal cortex, and the right inferolateral temporal cortex.
This discovery could make it possible to better understand the brain regions that are more sensitive to the treatment of depression, and those that are more resistant, thus opening the way to better therapies for this disease which is one of the ten major pathologies of the 21st century. ‘after’World Health Organization.
Depression is not just a bout of depression
A better understanding of brain anatomy could also benefit people with drug-resistant depressions, which are notably treated with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Currently, 20 to 30% of patients with a severe depressive disorder indeed suffer from a chronic form that is resistant to reference antidepressant treatments.
The Fundamental Foundationa scientific cooperation foundation dedicated to the fight against major psychiatric disorders, recalls that depression is an illness, not a “the Blues” or the reflection of a weakness of character: “It can last a few weeks, often several months, sometimes several years. It requires medical care and its recovery is not a matter of will.”