Depression: a new look at etiopathogenesis and treatment

Abstract

Depression is considered a multifactorial disease, the trigger of which is unknown. Eye diseases and depressive disorders may have a common trigger - excessively constricted pupils (experimental data). The hypothesis of the occurrence of depression: in genetically predisposed individuals, long-term negative emotions cause - through cortico-nuclear pathways - excessive narrowing of the pupils. Narrowed pupils (reduction of light flux) through the optic-vegetative system trigger pathological biochemical processes in the body, which leads to deterioration of the mental and physical conditions of patients. It is proposed to investigate experimentally (taking into account the principle of "direct - feedback" in the optic-vegetative system), whether the terms of treatment of patients with postpartum depression will be shortened when dilating one pupil with atropine (simulation of Adi's syndrome) against the background of standard therapy. With a positive effect of treatment, the above method can be used for other types of depressive disorders