Drug that beats the ‘baby blues’ in 48 hours
THOUSANDS of women are set to benefit from the first drug designed to tackle postnatal depression.
Tests show the condition goes into remission in seven in ten new mothers who take a single dose of Brexanolone.
The result far exceeds the power of any antidepressant.
The US Food and Drug Administration yesterday granted approval for the medication – a hormonal treatment which psychiatrists say targets the neurological root cause of postnatal depression.
officials in Europe are also looking at the drug – and have given its licence application priority status because the medicine targets an ‘unmet medical need’.
If approved, it will then be considered by NHS watchdogs. However the cost, which is expected to be in the region of £25,000 a patient, may prove a barrier.
Psychiatrists last night described the drug as a gamechanger that provides an urgentlyneeded rapid and effective treatment for postnatal depression.
Every year, an estimated 140,000 British mothers – one in every five – suffer depression, anxiety and other mental health problems during pregnancy or in the months after their baby is born. The condition can be crippling, and experts estimate every case costs the NHS and the economy £74,000.
Some women are given antidepressants such as Prozac – but these take six to eight weeks to work and for most women only numb their symptoms, rather than eradicating them. Brexanolone works within 48 hours.
Dr Trudi Seneviratne, chairman of the perinatal faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said last night: ‘This is a really exciting opportunity for an alternative medication for postnatal depression.
‘when women are so severely ill, they need to be treated as quickly as possible and get back to looking after their baby.
‘Postnatal depression affects the mother, the baby and the partner – anything that can speed up recovery is really to be welcomed.’
The treatment is likely to be reserved for women with the most severe depression because it is given on a drip for 60 hours, requiring a stay in hospital.
Dr Seneviratne said new mother and baby psychiatric units would allow women to look after their newborns during treatment.
‘we are already set up to start using this as a treatment,’ she said. ‘we are ready for it and we will welcome it if it is approved in Europe.’
Most antidepressants work by boosting the brain’s uptake of serotonin, known as the ‘happy chemical’, effectively tackling the symptom rather than the cause.
Brexanolone, however, specifically targets the ‘GABA’ receptors in the brain – part of a sensitive neurological system that can be put out of kilter in the aftermath of pregnancy. The GABA system is designed to stop the brain going into overdrive, dampening down activity and stopping brain cells from firing.
Trials published last year in the Lancet showed 70 per cent of women given Brexanolone went into remission within 48 hours. Thirty days later very few had relapsed.
Antidepressants have never been specifically studied for postnatal depression. But for general depression a major US study in 2011 reported remission rates of 31 per cent after 14 weeks and 65 per cent at six months.
Professor Samantha MeltzerBrody, who led the trials into Brexanolone at the University of North Carolina, said the approval ‘represents a gamechanging approach’.
‘Can speed up recovery’