May 3, 2011

expert reaction to new research on role of neurogenesis in antidepressant response to be published in Molecular Psychiatry

Research suggested that antidepressants may have neuroprotective actions in the brain.

Prof David Nutt, Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology, Imperial College London, said:

“This study further consolidates the growing evidence that antidepressants have neuroprotective actions. Indeed it seems likely that a major (maybe the major) mode of action of these drugs in both anxiety and depression is more to do with their ablilty to protect the brain against stress-induced damage rather than directly elevate mood. Certainly the most powerful clinical effect of antidepressants is to prevent relapse under stress – they promote resilience. This is why they need to be taken over the long term by people with vulnerability to these mental illnesses.”