2024-03-19 17:48:20
Categorized in: Science and technology, Health
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MONTREAL, March 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In their efforts to fund bold and transformative basic mental health research projects, the Brain Canada Foundation, the Krembil Foundation and Women’s Brain Health Initiative, with support from The Erika Legacy Foundation and Power Corporation of Canada are proud to announce the program winners The basics of better mental health.
Basic research consists of scientific research undertaken with the aim of understanding and extending our knowledge, without considering a particular application or use. The program The basics of better mental health will fund experimental research aimed at shedding light on the causes and appearance of mental illnesses, at exploring pathological alterations and information processing deficits which might reveal new avenues for treatment and intervention, and at probing the influence of sex and gender on mental health.
By the age of 40, one in two Canadians suffers or has suffered from a mental illness. It is essential to deepen fundamental research on the brain in order to understand how it functions in health and disease. To meet this need, the Brain Canada Foundation, its donors and partners have invested a total of $3.3 million to support three winners and their research team.
“Brain research plays a vital role in improving our understanding of the causes and onset of mental disorders,” says the Honorable Ya’ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “I am delighted to support the work carried out as part of the Foundations for Better Mental Health program, which will help improve the mental health of all Canadians. »
“The inclusion of gender-specific factors is key to better understanding the biological origins of mental illnesses,” explains Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of the Brain Canada Foundation. “We are very proud to support these three awardees at the forefront of brain research to address these gender gaps.”
The winners of the program The basics of better mental health study mental health disorders, which include depression, anxiety, and postpartum depression, with particular emphasis on gender-specific factors or differences.
“Little is understood regarding the brain and the diseases that affect it,” notes Mark Krembil, president and CEO of the Krembil Foundation. “These gaps force clinical research to focus on symptoms rather than causes. Without basic research that takes gender differences into account to uncover disease mechanisms, we cannot hope to create effective treatments. We are proud to support this program and the essential research it funds.”
“By focusing on gender-specific factors or differences, these studies show tremendous promise in revolutionizing our understanding and treatment of mental health disorders, paving the way for more effective interventions tailored to the unique needs of women? “, notes Lynn Posluns, founder and president of Women’s Brain Health Initiative. “Such initiatives will allow us to make significant advances in promoting women’s brain health and well-being.”
The bold projects supported by the Brain Canada Foundation, the Krembil Foundation and Women’s Brain Health Initiative include:
Insulin resistance in the mesolimbic system, a new hypothesis for depression associated with metabolic resistance due to obesity
Stephanie Borgland of the University of Calgary received $1,100,000.
This project aims to determine whether lack of insulin associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes may underlie the higher prevalence of depression and anxiety associated with these conditions, and whether recovery from insulin may improve mental health. The studies will be conducted with co-investigators Marie-Ève Paquet and Rochelin Dalangin from the Université de Laval, Stéphanie Fulton from the Université de Montréal, Carrie Ferrario from the University of Michigan and Xiaochen Bai from the University of Texas SouthWestern Medical Center .
Development of open scientific resources to map the transgenerational and gender-specific effects of neuropsychiatric diseases in the peripartum period
Liisa Galea of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health received $1,100,000.
This project aims to understand brain changes in postpartum depression and how the mother’s mental health following delivery may influence the child’s predisposition to mental health disorders throughout life. The studies will be conducted with co-investigators Brain Kalish of SickKids and Shreejoy Tripathy of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health.
A prodepressive dopamine complex in the brain mediates sex differences in depression and anxiety: validation and strategies for drug discovery
Susan George of the University of Toronto received $1,100,000.
This project aims to determine whether dopamine complexes may be involved in the higher rate of depression in women, using animal models, with the ultimate goal of drug discovery. The studies will be carried out with co-researcher Martin Beaulieu. Junchao Tong and Isabelle Boileau of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health are among the collaborators.
“Generous funding from the Brain Canada Foundation serves as a catalyst to foster innovation, collaboration and groundbreaking discoveries in our laboratories to understand the molecular biomarkers of postpartum depression, one of the periods when the risk of first depression is the highest?”, notes Liisa Galea. “I am honored to receive this funding for an under-studied area of research that affects not only the mother at the time of childbirth, but also the health of the family unit. I congratulate the Brain Canada Foundation and its funding partners for prioritizing discoveries in the field of women’s mental health.”
To learn more regarding the program The basics of better mental health.
Listen to the Brain Canada Foundation podcast on mental health, Playing with Marbles.
In this Brain Health Monthcelebrate your most important organ by better understanding how the brain functions in health and disease.
This program is made possible thanks to the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative agreement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), and the Brain Canada Foundation, as well as the Krembil Foundation and Women’s Brain Health Initiative, and with the support of The Erika Legacy Foundation and Power Corporation of Canada.
About the Krembil Foundation
The Krembil Foundation is a Canadian family-run non-profit organization that supports medical research. Its goal is to accelerate research, expand knowledge, and ultimately impact people’s lives through discoveries that will lead to scientific advances in medicine. With this in mind, the Foundation focuses its funding on historically underfunded areas, namely neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune diseases. The Foundation supports research to fill knowledge gaps and ultimately contribute to the discovery of treatments and cures for neurodegenerative diseases. www.krembilfoundation.ca
About the Women’s Brain Health Initiative
Several disorders resulting from brain aging inexplicably affect women even though science has not explored the subject much in order to understand the source. To ensure health equity and the future of precision medicine, we must therefore take into account the influence of sex (biological factors) and gender (social factors). Women’s Brain Health Initiative (WBHI) is a Canadian and American charity founded in 2012 dedicated entirely to protecting women’s brain health. WBHI’s mission is to protect women’s brain health by devoting its resources to research aimed at combating brain aging disorders that disproportionately affect women, by establishing relevant health prevention programs based on scientific data. Thus, we will know how to better prolong our cognitive vitality. For more information, visit womensbrainhealth.org.
Media contact:
Brielle Goulart
Communications and marketing advisor
Fondation Brain Canada
[email protected]
450 915-2253
A photo accompanying this press release is available at:
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