JNMC faculty delivers invited talk

Aligarh : Dr Mehdi Hayat Shahi, Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Brain Research Centre (IBRC), Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) explained the functions of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and the other neurotrophins in the pathogenesis of depression.

He was delivering an invited talk on ‘Neuroplasticity, Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and Depression’ in the International E-Conference and XXXIX Annual Meeting of the Indian Academy of Neuroscience of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata.

Pointing out that there are around 450 million people suffering with mental and neurological disorders globally, Dr Shahi emphasised that BDNF is one of the important markers for depression.

“Neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to rewire, reconnect and repair itself, gets lost in depression”, he added.

Dr Shahi and his team conducted successful experiments and investigations on animal models to demonstrate that natural flavonoid models have abilities to enhance neuroplasticity. He is also working on a method to develop blood based biomarkers for depressive and other neurological problems.