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US 2016/0106821 A1Published application
Functional ghrelin receptor antagonism during pregnancy to prevent stress-associated mental illness in offspring and mothers
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorKi Ann Goosens
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to methods of protecting against elevated ghrelin levels in a fetus by antagonizing ghrelin or ghrelin receptor. The invention also encompasses methods of treating postpartum depression by administering ghrelin antagonists.
Claims21
A method for treating stress-induced susceptibility to mental disorders in a fetus, comprising
- determining a level of ghrelin expression in a pregnant subject and if the pregnant subject has ghrelin levels that are higher than normal ghrelin levels in a normal pregnant subject at a similar stage of pregnancy, administering to the pregnant subject an effective amount of a ghrelin antagonist to reduce functional ghrelin exposure in a fetus and to treat stress induced susceptibility to mental disorders in the fetus.
A method for identifying a fetus at risk of developing a mental disorder, comprising
- determining a level of ghrelin expression in a pregnant subject and comparing the ghrelin levels with normal ghrelin levels found in a normal pregnant subject at a similar stage of pregnancy, wherein if the pregnant subject has ghrelin levels that are higher than normal ghrelin levels, the pregnant subject has a fetus that is at risk of developing a mental disorder.
A method for treating post-partum depression in a subject, comprising
- administering to a subject having or susceptible to postpartum depression an effective amount of a ghrelin antagonist to treat the postpartum depression in the subject.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.