Rebecca Brachman: A new class of drug that could prevent depression and PTSD
レベッカ・ブラックマン: うつやPTSDを予防できる新種の薬
Rebecca Brachman is a pioneer in the field of preventative psychopharmacology, developing drugs to enhance stress resilience and prevent mental illness. Full bio
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were made from, of all things,
ロケット燃料から作られました
one in five soldiers develop depression,
こんにち兵士の5人に1人が
that are at high risk for these diseases.
高いのは 兵士だけではありません
cancer patients, aid workers, refugees --
援助活動家、難民―
晒されている誰もがそうです
or major life stress.
these disorders are,
ありふれているにもかかわらず
if they work at all,
効果があったとしても
discovered the first vaccine --
最初のワクチンを発見したときー
a prophylactic for a disease,
発見したというだけでなく
発見したのです
to extend to psychiatric diseases.
考えられていませんでした
accidentally discovered
偶然にも うつやPTSDを予防できる
depression and PTSD.
発見するまではそうでした
whether they work in humans.
調べています
psychopharmaceuticals
stress resilience,
高める事によって効くので
呼ぶ事にしましょう
that you've since recovered from.
多い時期を思い起こしてみてください
you missed a flight.
飛行機の乗り遅れかもしれません
is the active biological process
能動的な生物学的プロセスで
容易にします
to bounce back after stress.
and your immune system fights it off.
それを撃退するのと同じです
enough stressor,
晒された結果として
such as depression.
危険性があります
of major depressive disorder
ほとんどの場合
引き金になっています
ストレス耐性増強剤は
against purely biological stressors,
純粋な生物学的ストレス因子にも
社会心理的ストレス因子にも
like bullying and isolation.
ストレスホルモンを
of stress hormones.
生物学的ストレス因子を与えたという事です
without a psychological component.
うつ状態の行動が現れます
of antidepressant treatment beforehand,
3週間与えておいても
enhancer given a week before
耐性増強剤を一回与えると
the depressive behavior.
完全に防ぐ事ができるのです
後でさえも
a drug has ever been shown
防ぐ事が示されたのは
often lifelong, clinical diseases.
しばしば生涯にわたり治療の必要な病気です
of substance abuse, homelessness,
ホームレス化、心臓病
リスクを高めます
is over three trillion dollars per year.
うつ病だけで 年間3兆ドル以上です
where we know someone is predictively
晒されるリスクが
to extreme stress.
分かっていたら—
地震被災地に入るような場合ですが
going into an earthquake zone.
of a resilience enhancer
投与する事ができます
by looters or worse,
もっと酷い目に遭っても
against developing depression or PTSD
うつやPTSDになる事は
from experiencing the stress,
免れる事はできませんが
立ち直る事ができます
her susceptibility to depression and PTSD,
劇的に下げます
her home, her family or even her life.
失うような事態を避けられます
the smallpox vaccine,
天然痘のワクチンを発見した後
続々と作られました
広く利用できるまでには
was widely available.
人の感受性が高まり
sensitive and creative and empathetic.
社会が信じていたことが一因です
気質によって引き起こされるのだと
by constitution and not biology.
today about depression.
いまだに言われています
opened the door
その後に続く
ちょうど同じように
that followed after,
open the possibility of a whole new field:
「予防精神薬理学」という
開けるのです
150年後になるのかは
という選択にかかっています
choose to do with it.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rebecca Brachman - Neuroscientist, writer, entrepreneurRebecca Brachman is a pioneer in the field of preventative psychopharmacology, developing drugs to enhance stress resilience and prevent mental illness.
Why you should listen
Current treatments for mood disorders only suppress symptoms without addressing the underlying disease, and there are no known cures. The drugs Rebecca Brachman is developing would be the first to prevent psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.
Brachman completed her PhD at Columbia University, prior to which she was a fellow at the National Institutes of Health, where she discovered that immune cells carry a memory of psychological stress and that white blood cells can act as antidepressants and resilience-enhancers. Brachman's research has been featured in The Atlantic, WIRED and Business Insider, and her work was recently described by Dr. George Slavich on NPR as a "moonshot project that is very much needed in the mental health arena."
In addition to conducting ongoing research at Columbia, Brachman is an NYCEDC Entrepreneurship Lab Fellow and cofounder of Paravax -- a biotech startup developing vaccine-like prophylactic drugs ("paravaccines") -- along with her scientific collaborator, Christine Ann Denny. She is also working on a non-profit venture to repurpose existing generic drugs for use as prophylactics, and previously served as the Interim Program Director for Outreach at the Zuckerman Institute at Columbia University.
Brachman is also a playwright and screenwriter. She holds Bachelor's degrees in both neuroscience and creative wWriting, and she is currently working on a tech-focused writing project with her long-time writing partner, Sean Calder ("Grimm," "Damages," "ER"). She served as the director of NeuWrite, a national network of science-writing groups that fosters ongoing collaboration between scientists, writers and artists, and she has been featured as a storyteller at The Story Collider.
(Photo: Kenneth Willardt)
Rebecca Brachman | Speaker | TED.com