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Depression is a common cause of disability, and while viable medications exist to treat it, finding the right medication for individual patients often amounts to trial and error for the physician. In a new study to be published in the journal Nature Medicine, Dr. Gustavo Turecki, a psychiatrist at the Douglas and professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry at McGill, together with his team, discovered that the levels of a tiny molecule, miR-1202, may provide a marker for depression and help detect individuals who are likely to respond to antidepressant treatment.

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鈥淯sing samples from the Douglas Bell-Canada Brain Bank, we examined brain tissues from individuals who were depressed and compared them with brain tissues from psychiatrically healthy individuals, says Turecki, who is also Director of the McGill Group for Suicide Studies, 鈥淲e identified this molecule, a microRNA known as miR-1202, only found in humans and primates and discovered that it regulates an important receptor of the neurotransmitter glutamate鈥�.听
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The team conducted a number of experiments that showed that antidepressants change the levels of this microRNA. 鈥淚n our clinical trials with living depressed individuals treated with citalopram, a commonly prescribed antidepressant, we found lower levels in depressed individuals compared to the non-depressed individuals before treatment,鈥� says Turecki. 鈥淐learly, microRNA miR-1202 increased as the treatment worked and individuals no longer felt depressed.鈥澨�听
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Antidepressant drugs are the most common treatment for depressive episodes, and are among the most prescribed medications in North America.听 鈥淎lthough antidepressants are clearly effective, there is variability in how individuals respond to antidepressant treatment,鈥� says Turecki, 鈥淲e found that miR-1202 is different in individuals with depression and particularly, among those patients who eventually will respond to antidepressant treatment鈥�.
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The discovery may provide 鈥渁 potential target for the development of new and more effective antidepressant treatments,鈥� he adds.
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To contact the researcher directly: gustavo.turecki [at] mcgill.ca
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