One study revealed that the lack of treatment in people with depression for more than ten years could cause inflammation in the brain.
A new study revealed that depression not only causes lack of appetite, hypersomnia and other conditions, but also causes biological changes in the brain.
The work led by the researcher of the Cambpbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, the Center for Addiction and Mental Health of Canada (CAMH), Jeff Meyer, indicates that people who have been with the disease without receiving treatment have greater cerebral inflammation than those that take less time.
According to Meyer, this study applied to 80 people provides the first biological evidence of major brain changes in long-term depression, demonstrating the need to make a change in the way to treat it.
Meyer said that brain inflammation is a common response in degenerative diseases as they progress, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and although depression is not considered degenerative, it does show that it can be progressive and not static.
How was this conclusion reached?
To reach this conclusion they took 25 patients who suffered from depression for more than ten years, another 25 who suffered the disease for less than that time and 30 who never suffered from it.
The study, measured through a positron emission tomography (PET), showed that in people with untreated depression levels of Translocator Protein (TSPO), indicator of the presence of inflammation, was 30 percent higher in some areas of the brain.
