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We just might know how antidepressants work, now. As it turns out, both SSRIs and ketamine bind to a receptor for Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, TrkB (free article). If you just want the high points, there's a graphical abstract on the front page of the PDF version.
Now, this right here? This made my day. :D
It also offers some new leads to understanding why entire categories of antidepressants don't work for some people. Subtle differences among TrkB alleles and expression frequencies might have big effects on what fits into that molecular pocket and how strong an effect it has. After all, we already know that one particular allele seems to confer a 2.2x risk of suicide attempts in depressed people.
On a more basic research level, we might also be able to develop model animals with cued brain-only overexpression of TrkB (where a gene promoter is added, and operates IFF some exogenous chemical cue is present) to determine what effects it has, and whether it's worthwhile to consider tinkering with the expression rate as a treatment method.
Now, this right here? This made my day. :D
It also offers some new leads to understanding why entire categories of antidepressants don't work for some people. Subtle differences among TrkB alleles and expression frequencies might have big effects on what fits into that molecular pocket and how strong an effect it has. After all, we already know that one particular allele seems to confer a 2.2x risk of suicide attempts in depressed people.
On a more basic research level, we might also be able to develop model animals with cued brain-only overexpression of TrkB (where a gene promoter is added, and operates IFF some exogenous chemical cue is present) to determine what effects it has, and whether it's worthwhile to consider tinkering with the expression rate as a treatment method.