Research findings have indicated that immune imbalance affects the onset of depression. It suggests that not only issues of the mind or brain but also inflammatory responses within the body are among the main causes of depression. These findings are expected to contribute to the development of new psychiatric drugs with novel mechanisms.

KAIST announced on the 20th that a research team led by Professor Han Jin-joo from the Brain and Neural RNA Research Laboratory at the Graduate School of Medical Science collaborated with Professor Kim Yang-sik's team from the Department of Psychiatry at Inha University College of Medicine to reveal that the imbalance of the 'immune-neural' axis is a key mechanism of major depressive disorder. This study was published in the October 31 issue of the international journal 'Advanced Science'.

The research team comprehensively analyzed blood, single-cell analysis, and patient-derived brain organoids (mini organs) from patients with depressive disorders who exhibit 'atypical features' such as hypersomnia or hyperphagia, contrary to typical depression, and who show psychotic symptoms with impaired reality judgment.

The researchers expect that these findings could contribute to the development of new depression drugs with novel mechanisms. For 30-40% of major depressive disorder patients, treatment effects do not appear even with two or more medications. Therefore, there is a need for the development of new drugs with various mechanisms, including immune and metabolic pathways, beyond existing antidepressant medications. Professor Han stated, "We hope this leads to the discovery of biomarkers for major depressive disorder and the development of new drugs."

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