Genetic Underpinnings of Depression Nearly Identified

Researchers at the Yale University announce that they were recently able to get closer to the root genetic cause of depression. If the work is successful to the end, then the genetic component of this debilitating mental illness could finally be removed from the equation.

Depression is not exclusively caused by genetic factors, scientists agree. Social, economic and personal factors also conspire to throw people into the feelings of hopelessness and loneliness they experience from time to time. All go though depressive episodes from time to time, but most snap out of it.

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the patterns of gene expression in white blood cells as a starting point, the team was able determine a “very exciting strategy for uniting the various types of data that we collect in clinical research in studies attempting to identify risk genes,” Dr. John Krystal says.

The expert, who is the Editor of the medical journal Biological Psychiatry, says that the gene RNF123 may in fact play a complex role in underlying depression, especially the more severe cases. Subsequent studies will focus in understanding this role even better, PsychCentral reports.