Discovering new genetic and psychosocial pathways in Major Depressive Disorder: the NewMood project

The World Health Organisation predicts that Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) will be the second greatest contributor to the global burden of disease by 2020, however, the neurobiological mechanisms behind the disease and the risk factors for it are yet unknown. NewMood (New Molecules for Mood Disorders) was a research project funded by the EU, collaborating work from 10 European countries with the aim of finding new molecular mechanisms behind MDD to develop more effective treatment options. This review explains the aims and objectives of NewMood and how it intends to achieve them with regards to the current literature. It also outlines two of its most recent projects: genome wide association replication study for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) increasing susceptibility to MDD and stress related pathways in depression using the cortisol awakening response (CAR). Both of these studies had significant results and could further contribute to our current understanding of MDD.