New Depression Model Advances Disease Frontiers

For over 30 years, scientists believed that monoamines - chemicals such as serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine - are low in the brain during major depressive episodes. However, no one had ever found a convincing explanation for monoamine loss.

Dr. Jeffrey Meyer and colleagues discovered that in major depression, higher levels of MAO-A is the primary process that lowers monoamine levels. Having more MAO-A leads to greater breakdown of chemicals like serotonin.

Based on these results, and work from four previous publications, Dr. Meyer developed an advanced monoamine model of depression. This is a huge step forward in the disease frontier. It brings the study of mental illness closer to the advancements seen in research into physical illness such as cardiac disease, and offers one of the most comprehensive disease models in mental illness.

Click here for an explanation of the monoamine model diagram, seen below. (PDF only)