A team of Chinese scientists has deciphered the biological paths that explain the different reactions of male and females mice Faced with chronic stressa finding that opens the door to early interventions against depression adapted to each sex.
The research, carried out by the Northwestern Institute of Biology of the Mesetas, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was recently published in the specialized magazines CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics and Experimental Biology and Medicine.
The study used models of mice under chronic stress and combined various methods to examine both static mechanisms and dynamic processes involved in the response to stress in both sexes, said Bi Hongtao, a researcher at the Institute cited on Tuesday by the official Xinhua agency.
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The results revealed significant differences in stress -induced behavior: male mice showed behaviors similar to those associated with depression, while females developed symptoms comparable to anxiety.
One of the main findings was the identification of an imbalance in estrogen metabolism as a possible central factor in the appearance of these differences.
Likewise, researchers detected variations in neurotransmitter levels, alterations in intestinal microbiota and abnormalities in both brain and intestinal metabolism.
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Recovery capacity
The study suggests that mice have a greater stress sensitivity and a lower recovery capacity than males, which could be related to lower bacterial diversity and disorders in estrogen metabolism.
These observations open the possibility of exploring therapeutic interventions with multiple objectives, focused on regulating hormonal metabolic pathways and taking advantage of critical periods during the recovery of depressive symptoms, BI pointed out.
(With EFE information)
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