Gene sequencing leads to new marker for depression
People who are afflicted with major depressive disorder can help themselves lead a functional life if they buy Canadian Paxil at a fraction of what it costs in the U.S.
People who are afflicted with major depressive disorder can help themselves lead a functional life if they buy Canadian Paxil at a fraction of what it costs in the U.S. A growing body of research suggests that mental illnesses such as depression have a genetic basis, and a new study from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute and Yale University supports that idea.
"We were searching for things in psychiatric disease that are the equivalent of what cholesterol is to heart disease," said author John Blangero, Ph.D. "We wanted to find things that can be measured in everybody and that can tell you something about risk for major depression."
With the help of 8,000 linked computer processors, the research team analyzed genes taken from the blood samples of more than 1,100 participants of the Genetics of Brain Structure and Function Study, which includes 40 extended families of Mexican descent around San Antonio. After studying more than 11,000 different heritable traits, the scientists discovered that the gene RNF123, which helps regulate the growth of nerve cells, had the strongest link to major depressive disorder. Further analysis also pointed to several other genes that help regulate RNF123.
Finding this gene, whose expression levels are easy to measure in the blood, may give doctors a way to assess which individuals are at risk for becoming depressed, the researchers said.
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