About 30% of people with depression do not respond at all to either medication or psychotherapy.
depression can be divided into six different types using tomography the brain according to new research reports.
this new study published Journal of Nature Medicine may improve treatment for many suffering from this debilitating disorder.
Researchers analyzed brain MRI scans to identify six different biological types of depression. based on differences in brain activity patterns.
These differences allowed researchers to distinguish them potentially better treatments for three types of depressionas can be seen from the results.
«To our knowledge, this is the first time that we have been able to demonstrate that depression can be explained by different disturbances in brain activity.said lead researcher Leanne Williams, director of Stanford Medical Center’s Center for Vulnerable Mental Health and Wellness.
«In essence, it is a demonstration of a personalized medical approach to mental health based on objective measurements of brain function.“, the scientist adds.
If these findings hold true, people diagnosed with depression may one day undergo brain scans finding the treatment that will work best for you.
Where was the investigation conducted and what did it show?
About 30% of people with depression do not respond at all to either medication or psychotherapyand two-thirds feel that treatment will not fully resolve their depression.
For the study, researchers analyzed brain scans 801 diagnosed with depression or anxiety. People were scanned while they rested and engaged in a variety of tasks designed to elicit new thoughts and feelings.
The researchers narrowed down the areas of the brain known to play a role in depression. AI helped them categorize activity in these areas into six different types of depression.
In the second test, 250 participants started either psychotherapy or one of three commonly used antidepressants. The results showed that some treatments worked better than others in certain species.
For example, the type of depression characterized by excessive activity in the cognitive areas of the brain showed the best response to the antidepressant venlafaxine.
According to the study, different types of depression are also associated with differences in symptoms between patients.
The researchers plan to expand the study to include more people and test more drugs and treatments in all six species.