A Study on Postpartum Depression: Is it All About Genes?

Abstract

Postpartum depression (PPD) refers to moderate or severe depression in a woman after she has given birth. This study investigated gene expression in euthymic women with a history of postpartum depression without any clinical signs of the disease at the onset of the study. The chosen hypothesis of this study is that stable modifications in gene expression might be involved in PPD development. The results demonstrated the extremely significant difference in gene expression signature (352 highly differentially expressed genes) in the women with a history of postpartum depression as compared to the control women without any previous psychiatric disorders. This understanding of the molecular events involved in the disease is crucial for its successful treatment. This finding will play an important role in the medical field as the identified genes appear to be potential markers of predisposition to depression.