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"Grape-Derived Compounds May Help To Prevent Depression"

  • Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
  • New York, NY
  • (February 05, 2018)

Scientists have identified two grape-derived compounds that can effectively help to treat and protect against stress-induced depression in mice, and which could represent promising new candidates for treating depression in humans. The compounds, dihydrocaffeic acid (DHCA) and malvidin-3'-O-glucoside (Mal-gluc), trigger epigenetic changes in genes that affect inflammation and synaptic plasticity, mechanisms that aren't addressed by current antidepressants. "Our approach to use a combination treatment of DHCA and Mal-gluc to simultaneously inhibit peripheral inflammation and modulate synaptic plasticity in the brain works synergistically to optimize resilience against chronic stress-induced depression-like phenotypes," said lead researcher, Giulio Maria Pasinetti, PhD, MD, Saunders professor of neurology and program director of the Center for Molecular Integrative Neuroresilience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "The discovery of these new, natural grape-derived polyphenol compounds targeting cellular and molecular pathways associated with inflammation may provide an effective way to treat a subset of people with depression and anxiety, a condition that affects so many people."

  • Giulio Maria Pasinetti, PhD, MD, Saunders Professor, Neurology, Program Director, Center for Molecular Integrative Neuroresilience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

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