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Davies W. Understanding the pathophysiology of postpartum psychosis: Challenges and new approaches. World J Psychiatr 2017; 7(2): 77-88 [PMID: 28713685 DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v7.i2.77]
World J Psychiatr. Jun 22, 2017; 7(2): 77-88 Published online Jun 22, 2017. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v7.i2.77
Understanding the pathophysiology of postpartum psychosis: Challenges and new approaches
William Davies
William Davies, Medical Research Council Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics and Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, United Kingdom
William Davies, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, United Kingdom
William Davies, Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, United Kingdom
Author contributions: William Davies is the sole contributor to the article.
Supported byMedical Research Council Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, No. MR/L010305/1.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.
Correspondence to: Dr. William Davies, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building 70, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, United Kingdom. daviesw4@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone: +44-29-20870152 Fax: +44-29-20874679
Received: November 7, 2016 Peer-review started: November 10, 2016 First decision: January 14, 2017 Revised: February 8, 2017 Accepted: April 18, 2017 Article in press: April 20, 2017 Published online: June 22, 2017 Processing time: 226 Days and 12.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Postpartum psychosis is a severe psychiatric condition affecting a small proportion of women shortly after childbirth. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying risk for the condition are extremely poorly-defined, but may include perturbed immune function, altered tryptophan metabolism and serotonergic dysfunction. Here, I critically review evidence underlying these assumptions, and discuss a novel model for postpartum psychosis risk, involving maternal deficiency for the enzyme steroid sulfatase, and overexpression of the CCN gene family, based upon emerging data from a recently-developed mouse animal model. Identifying and characterising predictive biomarkers for postpartum psychosis risk will help to ensure prompt clinical intervention if required.
