Perimenopause depression researchers seek volunteers

Researchers at the University of Alberta are studying the relationship between perimenopause and fluctuating brain chemical levels in women experiencing depression in hopes of finding an effective treatment plan.

Women in the transitional period of perimenopause, when menstrual cycles become increasingly irregular, are two to 14 times more likely to experience depression for the first time during that period than before the hormonal change, research co-ordinator Jessica Luki said.

The team hopes to study the levels of two specific neurotransmitters in brains of women experiencing perimenopause to see how they might lead to a depressive state.

“There’s a high risk of depression because of those changing levels of female hormones,” she said. “We’re going to see how the varying levels of female hormones affect those neurotransmitters and result in perimenopausal depression.”

To gather the data for the study, Luki said they are looking for 60 women who are perimenopausal and either have experienced depression or have no prior history of mental illness.

Under the direction of U of A professor Jean-Michel Le Melledo, the team will perform an MRI on the study participants to take scans of the brain and measure the levels of the chemicals in question.

The scans will be looking at the chemicals of glutamate, responsible for excitation in the brain, and GABA, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter.

With few concrete answers in this area, Luki said women experiencing perimenopausal depression don’t know what the best solutions are to treat their symptoms and it is a “guess and check.”

“It can change perhaps how we target treatment,” she said of the study’s importance. “Those with perimenopausal depression, not only are they dealing with depressive symptoms, but also symptoms with their perimenopause. If we could find something that’s more effective at treating both, that would make the lives of these women just that much easier.”

Le Melledo and his team previously did a study in 2012 relating to brain chemical fluctuations in women experiencing postpartum depression and they are hoping to see if this pattern is similar in perimenopause.

The researchers are looking for Edmonton women who meet the requirements for the two-visit study. Interested parties are asked to call 780-862-6146 or email jluki@ualberta.ca.