CEO Updates – Dr. Merali

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No mental illness takes such a toll on our society as depression.  We are therefore very excited by discoveries made at our  Depression Research Centre last year. We broke new ground in investigating how environmental factors such as stress and trauma may alter the expression of our genes to promote depression and suicide.  Our research focussed on how early life environmental factors stage the trajectory to risk or resiliency to mental illness.  The work of our Canada Research Chair holders, Drs. Pierre Blier and Georg Northoff has begun to revolutionize the way we select and use different treatment modalities.  By combining two or more drugs that work through different mechanisms, Dr. Blier’s studies are doubling the remission rate of depression from about 30 percent to over 50 percent.

Another groundbreaking front for the Depression Research Centre last year was the area of biomarker development for depression.  These biomarkers provide much needed objective tools to supplement the traditional diagnostic procedures (relying largely on patients’ own descriptions of their symptoms).  For instance, just as we use electrocardiogram (EKG) to identify heart problems, the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research (IMHR) scientists use electroencephalogram (EEG) to pick up abnormal brain activity “signatures” of depression.  Like the use of x-rays to detect broken bones, we are using brain imaging to not only identify brain regions with abnormal activity characteristic of depression, but also to help guide individualized treatments.  We are also working on the development of a “blood test” to identify genes that predispose you to depression and to help guide the selection of the most appropriate antidepressants.

Thus, at The Royal’s Depression Research Centre, we are very proud of focussed work being carried out to create a novel and systematic approach to research-informed diagnosis and treatment of depression.  Using this evidence-based information, we then develop personalized treatment recommendations to gets patients well quickly.  Because depression is so prevalent and carries the largest burden of illness in Canada (costing over $51 billion, annually), this work is poised to have a positive impact both in social and economic domains.

We believe that IMHR’s objectives and achievements are with the strategic directions of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group of “Advancing Care through Discovery”, and those of the University of Ottawa, which recently launched the Brain and Mind Institute (of which we are a founding partner).  Finally, our work is strategically congruent with the recent federal governmental initiatives including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) strategy on patient-oriented research, neuroscience research (budget line item), and the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

The stars are aligning well for the IMHR’s initiatives.  We are very excited and hopeful that we will bring a better understanding and treatment of mental illness – particularly depression – to the forefront where they belong.  A hopeful and inspirational future indeed.