Glia: a new cellular target in the treatment of major depression.

Depression is a common illness worldwide, with an estimated 350 million people affected. Projections even indicate that by 2020 it will be ranked second cause of disability worldwide. There are effective treatments for depression but it is estimated that one third of depressed patients do not respond adequately to conventional antidepressant drugs. Moreover, among responders, one of the main limitations of these agents lies in their long delay between the beginning of treatment and the onset of the therapeutic effects.