Study of Antidepressant Drugs Effect on Development of the Brain and Related Genes

Depression is a mood disorder that causes constant feelings of sadness and loss of interest. Depression is the most common mood disorder in today’s society. It is twice as common in women as in men, and the initial start of depression is usually in woman’s reproductive years.About 7% of pregnant women experience depression and using antidepressants during pregnancy. Failure to treat depression during this period has irreversible consequences. also, treating depressed mothers with antidepressants given that they have the same mechanism as antidepressants and affecting the brain is very dangerous because the use of these medicines may alter the expression of genes involved in brain development and thus cause brain disorders in the fetus. Therefore, this article examines the effect of antidepressants on fetal brain development and key genes affecting brain development.

This research is a review study and Iranian and foreign databases such as PUBMED, NCBI and etc. have been used to collect information in this research.

Based on the findings, brain development involves the constant interaction of the environment and genetic factors, and many genes are effective in regulating brain size. Research has shown that antidepressants affect the expression of genes involved in brain development and lead to malformations Genetic brains such as primary microcephaly (MCPH), macrocephaly, autism, etc.

According to the reviewed articles and the obtained documents, brain size regulation requires different mechanisms and genes. Due to the effect of antidepressants on the expression of genes involved in brain development and their use to prevent brain and mental disorders in the fetus, the use of antidepressants in pregnant women and lactating mothers should be prohibited.