Brazilian researchers have identified molecules associated with depression in the elderly, which should facilitate early detection and treatment of the disease.
The research was conducted by the State University of Campinas (Unicamp).
This is in collaboration with scientists from the Brazilian Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and the Universities of Connecticut (USA), and Toronto (Canada).
Several proteins have been identified that are associated with depression in older age.
The researchers were able to determine which molecules could contribute to a more effective diagnosis and treatment of the disease, which affects nearly 10 percent of the elderly population.
“We still have no idea how similar this depression is from a molecular perspective to major depression, which affects nearly 10 percent of the population.”
“And like major depression, there are no biomarkers to detect or predict that someone will develop this disease in the future,” explains study coordinator Daniel Martins, a professor at Unicamp.
According to Martins, one of the causes of the disease could be related to the environmental aspect.
“People have life experiences that cause biological changes that lead to depression.”
“This is also true for major depression, but these features may be more pronounced in people with depression at an advanced age,” he said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least six in 100 people between the ages of 65 and 74 are diagnosed with depression.
The study examined blood samples from 50 people, 19 diagnosed with depression at an advanced age.
The analysis revealed significant differences in the concentration of 96 proteins.
Of these, 75 can determine a molecular identity for geriatric disease.
“We succeeded in finding what we call a molecular signature. In other words, we have identified some molecules in the blood that can distinguish who has depression and who does not,” Martins said.
The following steps in the study involve taking new samples from this population.
The idea is to “specifically quantify these 75 proteins to see if we can replicate this data,” the coordinator explained.
The study also identified six proteins that correlate with symptom severity.
“It can also be a marker that predicts that a person’s symptoms are going to get much worse so that pretreatment is possible,” Martins said.