14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists announce the discovery of a section of genetic material that is apparently involved in underlying depression. This particular DNA segment can be found on chromosome 3, the team says.
The international collaboration of researchers that made this discovery features scientists from the King's College London, in the United Kingdom, and the Washington University in St. Louis (WUSL) School of Medicine (WUSM), in the United States.
Previous studies conducted on families' history of depression have revealed that the condition must have a genetic factor. It has a much higher chance of occurring in families where other members have it too, researchers say.
On the other hand, about 1 in 5 people will go on to develop major depression sometime during their lives. As such, determining the causes and potential treatments for this disorder is of vital importance.
In a couple of new researches, experts look at a DNA region that contains an estimated 90 genes. Interestingly, the two research teams were not looking for the same thing, but found an identical correlation, Science Blog reports.
“What’s remarkable is that both groups found exactly the same region in two separate studies,” explains WUSM professor of psychiatry Pamela A. F. Madden, PhD, the senior investigator on one of the two studies.
“We were working independently and not collaborating on any level, but as we looked for ways to replicate our findings, the group in London contacted us to say, ‘We have the same linkage peak, and it’s significant’,” she goes on to say.
Both studies were published in the May 16 issue of the esteemed American Journal of Psychiatry.
Researchers from the two teams admit that there are currently no practical applications for the new discoveries. However, they stress that the findings will be useful as experts try to develop a better understanding of the events underlying depression at a genetic and molecular level.
This is just as important as treating the effects that the disorder has on the outside. In the WUSM study, experts tracked families of smokers, since depression is known to have a much more severe impact on such individuals.
“Major depression is more common in smokers, with lifetime reports as high as 60 percent in smokers seeking treatment. Smokers with depression tend to experience more nicotine withdrawal and may be more likely to relapse when trying to quit,” says Michele L. Pergadia, PhD.
The expert, who was the lead author of one of the two studies, holds an appointment as a research assistant professor of psychiatry at the Washington University.
“Previous studies suggest that smoking and depression run together in families. In our study, we detected a region of the genome that travels with depression in families of smokers,” she concludes.