Depression affects women twice as often as men, but scientists still don’t fully understand why. Now, researchers from Austria and Germany are studying a possible reason: the blood-brain barrier.
This invisible shield protects the brain by keeping harmful substances in the blood from getting into brain tissue. If the barrier becomes leaky or weak, brain disorders like depression could develop.
The blood-brain barrier is made up of two types of cells. The first type is called endothelial cells, which form the walls of blood vessels. The second type is called astrocytes, star-shaped cells that help support and protect the brain. Together, they form a barrier that normally works like a strong filter.
But what if this filter doesn’t work the same way in women and men? That’s the question being asked by Dr. Kerstin Lenk from the Institute of Neural Engineering at TU Graz and her research partners at the University of Regensburg.
Their joint project is called “Leaky blood-brain barrier in major depressive disorder.” It focuses on how this barrier might function differently in people with depression—and especially whether there are clear differences between women and men.
In their lab experiments, the team in Regensburg grows and studies human brain cells. They focus on how astrocytes and endothelial cells behave in healthy brains compared to those with signs of depression. They use advanced tools from biology, chemistry, and genetics to identify the tiny changes in how these cells interact.
Meanwhile, Dr. Lenk and her team take this information and use it to create “digital twins” of the brain cells and the blood-brain barrier. These are computer models that copy the real-life behavior of the cells.
The scientists run computer simulations to see how messages, like chemical signals, move between the cells. They also use artificial intelligence (AI) to search for patterns in the data that might reveal how the barrier works differently in women than in men.
The goal of the research is to better understand why depression looks and acts differently in women and men. For example, women are more likely to have stronger emotional symptoms or longer-lasting depression.
If scientists can figure out the biological reasons behind this, they might be able to create better treatments—ones that are tailored to each person’s sex and biology.
This research is part of a growing trend in neuroscience that looks at how biological sex affects the brain. In the past, many studies were based mostly on male participants, which left out important information about how women’s brains might respond differently.
To fix this, scientists like Dr. Lenk are using new lab tools that can model these differences. These include stem cell models, 3D mini-brains called organoids, and tiny lab-grown systems called organ-on-a-chip.
By combining these tools with AI and computer models, researchers hope to make sure that future treatments work better for everyone, regardless of sex.
This type of research could lead to big changes in how we understand and treat brain disorders like depression. By looking more closely at how the brain’s barriers work—and how they differ between men and women—scientists are opening new doors to more personalized and effective care.
If you care about mental health, please read studies about Middle-aged women with no kids may have this mental issue and findings of scientists find a cause of mental illnesses induced by childhood abuse.
For more about mental health, please read studies about Frequent painkiller use linked to mental health risks in these people and findings of Common depression drugs may offer new treatment for bipolar disorder.
The study is published in Nature Reviews Bioengineering.
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