Kynurenine pathway dysfunction in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression: Evidences from animal and human studies.

ABSTRACT: Treatment-resistant depression affects up to 20% of individuals suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD). The medications currently available to treat depression, including serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), fail to produce adequate remission of depressive symptoms for a large number of patients. The monoamine hypothesis upon which these medications are predicated should be expanded and revised as research elucidates alternative mechanisms of depression and effective methods to treat the underlying pathologic consequences. Research into the role of tryptophan degradation and the kynurenine pathway in the setting of inflammation has brought new insight into potential etiologies of MDD. Further investigatio

SUBMITTER: Reus GZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4955923 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature