New Study Reveals How Depressive Disorders Afflict Human Blood Cells, Immune System

The research appears to show for the first time that depressive disorders are "associated with increased deformability of blood cells".

Researchers at the Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden) and the University of Zurich, in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, have managed to establish an apparent link between depressive disorders and mechanical changes in blood cells.

According to a media release posted on TU Dresden’s website, the research team made this discovery after performing a cross-sectional case-control study whose participants included "69 pre-screened individuals at high-risk for depressive disorders and 70 matched healthy controls".

During the course of their study, the researchers have established that peripheral blood cells were "more deformable" in patients suffering from depressive disorders, as compared to control subjects, though "cell size was not affected".

The new research, as the release points out, also shows for the first time that depressive disorders are "associated with increased deformability of blood cells", with lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils (all of which are part of the immune system) being the most affected.

Dr. Andreas Walther, first author of the study who is currently works at the Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Zurich, also said that they are "working in parallel on research into pharmacological therapies to improve a dysfunctional biology as well as psychological therapies to improve dysfunctional cognitive and emotional processes".

"Indeed, in my opinion, only a holistic approach can understand and efficiently treat this complex disorder and hopefully prevent much suffering in the future," he added.