Kynurenine pathway may explain higher depression odds in adolescent girls | Image Credit: © primipil – © primipil – stock.adobe.com.
The kynurenine pathway and its role in depression
The kynurenine pathway may influence the disparity in depression rates based on biological sex among adolescents, according to a recent study published in Biological Psychiatry.1
When tryptophan is broken down in the kynurenine pathway, it may take a route to produce brain-protecting chemicals or a route to produce brain-damaging chemicals, referred to as neuroprotective and neurotoxic chemicals, respectively. Multiple byproducts are involved in this process, including kynurenic acid and quinolinic acid.
“Adolescence is a time when many changes occur in the brain and body but we still know very little about the possible biological drivers…