Resumen

PEREZ-PADILLA, Elsy Arlene et al. Prevalence, Causes, and Treatment of Major Depression. Rev. biomédica [online]. 2017, vol.28, n.2, pp.73-98. ISSN 2007-8447.  https://doi.org/10.32776/revbiomed.v28i2.557.

Major depression represents a public health problem due to its high prevalence. The etiology of major depression is complex because involves psychosocial, genetic, and biological factors. Among psychosocial factors, different studies report that the first depressive episode appear after some stressful event and produces long-term changes in brain physiology. These long-lasting changes produce variations at the structural level and in the functioning of different brain areas. Among the genetic factors involved in depressive illness, it has been reported that about 200 genes are related to major depressive disorder. Within the biological factors, there is an evidence of alterations in the level of neurotransmitters, cytosine’s and hormones, whose actions induces structural and functional modifications in the central nervous system, the immune system and the endocrine system, which increases the risk of suffering major depression. Despite years of study, the biological basis of major depression and precise mechanisms of antidepressant efficacy remain unclear. The objective of the present review is to summarize the main conclusions of the clinical and experimental literature regarding to the etiology of major depressive disorder.

Palabras llave : Major depression; neurotransmitters; neuroplasticity; serotonin; norepinephrine; immune system.

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