title: Depression as a microglial disease.
abstract: Despite decades of intensive research, the biological mechanisms that causally underlie depression are still unclear, and therefore the development of novel effective antidepressant treatments is hindered. Recent studies indicate that impairment of the normal structure and function of microglia, caused by either intense inflammatory activation (e.g., following infections, trauma, stroke, short-term stress, autoimmune or neurodegenerative diseases) or by decline and senescence of these cells (e.g., during aging, Alzheimer's disease, or chronic unpredictable stress exposure), can lead to depression and associated impairments in neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. Accordingly, some forms of depression can be considered as a microglial disease (microgliopathy), which should be treated by a personalized medical approach using microglial inhibitors or stimulators depending on the microglial status of the depressed patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, Israel. Electronic address: razyirmiya@huji.ac.il.
authors.forename: Raz
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yirmiya
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, Israel.
authors.forename: Neta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rimmerman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, Israel.
authors.forename: Ronen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reshef
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy; D006801:Humans; D017628:Microglia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D057285:Precision Medicine / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents
keywords: Microglia; antidepressants; depression; inflammation; neurogenesis; stress