Cellular Aging and Neurobiology of Depression Study

Study overview

We are conducting an eight week longitudinal study to learn if blood levels of certain naturally occurring compounds and genetic markers differ between patients with depression and healthy adults who are not depressed, and if any such differences relate to memory performance, mood, and neurobiology. We are also interested in how the gut microbiome is affected by antidepressant treatment. We will do this by comparing the unmedicated depressed patients with matched healthy controls at baseline and then following the depressed patients over the course of eight weeks of standardized antidepressant treatment to gauge which baseline abnormalities normalize over the course of treatment.

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Collaborators and Investigators

University of California, San Francisco,

Owen Wolkowitz, MD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, University of California, San Francisco

Ryan Rampersaud, MD, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, University of California, San Francisco

Study Record Dates

2026-08-31