Preventing postpartum blues

As exciting a time as it is at CAMH in regards to the development of new drugs to effectively treat mental illness, the possibility of preventing mental illness before it emerges is the ultimate goal, and CAMH scientists have never been closer to achieving it than they are now. Right now CAMH is conducting the largest study in the world on youth mental health, tracking thousands of young Canadians at risk for severe mental illness like psychosis, with the goal of preventing it before it emerges. CAMH is also developing new drug treatments for the prevention of PTSD and even dementia.

The majority of women experience some level of sadness during the first five days of giving birth, known as postpartum blues, and when this is severe it leads to a high risk for clinical-level postpartum depression.

Dr. Meyer found in brain imaging scans that during the postpartum blues, women have temporarily elevated levels of a brain protein known as “MAO-A,” which is also associated with the onset of clinical depression. In response to this discovery, he created a dietary supplement kit designed to create resiliency against high levels of this protein.

Dr. Meyer is confident that the supplement will become widely available in the next year to all of the roughly 400,000 women who give birth in Canada and millions more around the globe. The successful translation of this groundbreaking CAMH research discovery to new mothers worldwide will be made possible through a collaboration with a well-positioned women’s health pharmaceutical company.

“Developing successful nutrition-based treatments, based on neurobiology, is rare in psychiatry. We believe our approach also represents a promising new avenue for creating other new dietary supplements to prevent mental illness.”

"I honestly believe that supporting CAMH research is one of the most important things that anyone can do,” says Toronto lawyer Carole Dagher, who developed a life-threatening case of postpartum depression a few days after the birth of her first child. “If you know someone who suffers from mental illness or you have suffered yourself, you understand how difficult it is to live with it and see people that you love struggle with it. People with mental illness can feel like they have no future, which is why it is so important that institutions like CAMH can continue to innovate with new treatments.”