Mechanism for postpartum depression found in mice
Researchers have pinpointed a mechanism in the brains of mice that could explain why some human mothers become depressed following childbirth. The discovery could lead to improved treatment for postpartum depression. Supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health, of the National Institutes of Health, the study used genetically engineered mice lacking a protein critical for adapting to the sex hormone fluctuations of pregnancy and the postpartum period.
“For the first time, we may have a highly useful model of postpartum depression,” said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel, M.D. “The new research also points to a specific potential new target in the brain for medications to treat this disorder that affects 15 percent of women after they give birth.”
“After giving birth, female mice deficient in the suspect protein showed depression-like behaviors and neglected their newborn pups,” explained Istvan Mody, Ph.D., of the University of California at Los Angeles, who led the research. “Giving a drug that restored the protein’s function improved maternal behavior and reduced pup mortality.”
High Resolution Heart Images Now Available at Peak Stress
While treadmill exercise stress testing is an essential tool in the prevention, detection and treatment of cardiovascular disease, physicians are often challenged to gain clear images of the heart when a patient is at peak stress level.
That is changing at the Ohio State University Medical Center where researchers have designed equipment to provide high resolution images of the heart at a critical stage of testing that have previously been difficult to obtain using standard testing procedures. Superior images of the heart are obtained with a test lasting less than one hour.
“In the past, we were constrained by the time lapse between the completion of exercise and capturing the images,” said Orlando “Lon” Simonetti, PhD, associate professor of internal medicine and radiology.
New Method Assesses Risks for Heart Failure Patients
Data from 260 hospitals across the United States has led to the creation of a new method for physicians to more accurately determine the severity of heart failure in patients upon hospital admission, with a goal of reducing in-hospital mortality and more quickly identifying triage methods and treatment decisions. The model is discussed in the July 29 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
“Heart failure patients experience high rates of hospital stays and poor outcomes,” said Dr. William Abraham, director of cardiovascular medicine at Ohio State University Medical Center and primary author of the article. “By utilizing this model, we can more quickly identify patients at risk for in-hospital mortality who might benefit from more aggressive monitoring and intervention.”
The model was developed as part of the OPTIMIZE-HF (Organized Program to Initiate Lifesaving Treatment in Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure) study, which offered recommendations to improve treatment of congestive heart failure based on monitoring more than 48,000 patients.
