How does the new drug for postpartum depression work?

On Tuesday (March 19, 2009), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it had approved a drug specifically for treating postpartum depression for the first time.

But how does this drug work? How is it different from other drugs for depression? According to the FDA, the drug named brexanolone (trade name Zulresso) needs to be taken under the supervision of medical institutions and given intravenously within 60 hours (2.5 days). Dr. Christina Deli Ghianni Dis said:

Brexanolone "is different from any drug we currently approve for the treatment of depression." The female behavioral health supervisor of Zucker Hillside Hospital in new york participated in the clinical trial of the drug and was finally approved. [Seven different ways of depression for men and women]

This drug is a synthetic steroid called isopropyl progesterone, which is naturally produced in the human body. Isopropyl progesterone is the decomposition product of sex hormone progesterone, which is produced in the brain, ovary and placenta during pregnancy.

As we all know, the plasma concentration of isopropyl progesterone increases during pregnancy and decreases rapidly after delivery. According to SaaGealthIndsCo's research, the fluctuation of steroid hormone level will cause depression and anxiety changes in some women. But Deligiannidis told Life Science that people think that this drug will change the stress response of the body, which is abnormal in women with postpartum depression. The drug binds to GABA receptor, which plays a role in many brain functions.

The company said that this combination may reverse or "reset" brain activity related to postpartum depression.

Deligiannidis said that Brechat Noronone is a different type of therapeutic drug, and its action mode is different from other drugs for depression. It usually does not bind to GABA receptors. She said that a class of drugs called benzodiazepines, sometimes called sedatives, also bind to GABA receptors, but they bind to different types of GABA receptors and have different functions. "Kdspe" by Brecht Nolon

Studies have found that this drug has a quick and effective effect. Deligiannidis said that two clinical trials of 250 women with postpartum depression showed that within 60 hours, 50% of women who took Brechat Norone no longer experienced clinical depression, while only 25% of women who took placebo did. Clinical depression is evaluated by giving women a questionnaire with depression score. )

She said that compared with other drugs for depression, it is not clear how brexanolone works so quickly, and other drugs for depression may take several weeks to work.

The effect of a single injection of brexanolone seems to last at least 30 days, which is the longest time for women during the study period. Deligiannidis said that when doctors prescribe this medicine, they will better understand that the effect lasts for more than 30 days. But a month's time also gives doctors a chance to start other treatments for depression, such as talk therapy, she added.

According to the FDA, this is because some women who take Brechat Norone have experienced excessive sedation and sudden unconsciousness, and need to take the medicine under supervision.

Sage therapy is also studying a similar drug for postpartum depression, which can take pills once a day. This drug is currently in clinical trials and has not been approved by the FDA.

Flowering body: 8 strange changes during pregnancy 18 ways pregnancy will change your body forever. Nine celebrities who talk about depression were first published in Life Science.