CARIPLO SALA - Shedding light on treatment-resistant depression and unravelling ketamine's fast-acting antidepressant mechanisms of action through patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (DSB.AD004.312)

Thematic area

Biomedical sciences

Project area

Structure responsible for the research project

Institute of neuroscience (IN)

Project manager

CARLO SALA
Phone number: 02-50317096
Email: carlo.sala@in.cnr.it

Abstract

Major depressive disorder is one of the most prevalent and life-threatening forms of mental illnesses and a major cause of morbidity worldwide. Despite their delayed onset of action, currently available antidepressants are effective for most patients, although around 30% are considered suffering from Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD), a condition that is associated with a significant impairment of cognitive function, an increased suicidality and poor quality of life. Ketamine, a non-competitive NMDAr antagonist, is the first drug to show rapid (within hours) therapeutic and anti-suicidal effects in patients with TRD by rapidly increasing synaptic connections and reversing the loss of synapses in many cortical areas hypothesized to be pivotal in the pathophysiology underlying depression. The purpose of the project is to investigate the mechanism of action (MoA) of ketamine in TRD by reprogramming different neuronal and glial subtypes from patient-induced stem cells.

Start date of activity

01/10/2020

Keywords

depressione, ketamina, stem cells

Last update: 12/05/2024