We are talking about major depression here and all that. It
appears that we have a biological marker and that this could lead to
effective therapies. Similar effects appear typically caused by
imbalances in the blood's energy transport and are just that. Major
depression lacks such a simple explanation so this is quite welcome.
Whether this also leads to a simple therapy remains to be seen.
We probably need another name for this. Common depression is more
about been tired and is tossed about far too much. When you are
tired, your judgment begins to fail as the brain starves for more
energy and actual rest however brief. You can and will feel badly.
Yet recovery is often a shot of energy and simple re-engagement with
the task at hand. This group is easily separable and most of us soon
learn to mange all this.
The other group is another issue and now knowing it is biologically
driven allows us to dismiss the red herrings out there.
ScienceDaily (Aug. 12,
2012) — Major depression or chronic stress can cause
the loss of brain volume, a condition that contributes to both
emotional and cognitive impairment. Now a team of researchers led by
Yale scientists has discovered one reason why this occurs -- a single
genetic switch that triggers loss of brain connections in humans and
depression in animal models.
The findings, reported
in the Aug. 12 issue of the journal Nature Medicine, show that
the genetic switch known as a transcription factor represses the
expression of several genes that are necessary for the formation of
synaptic connections between brain cells, which in turn could
contribute to loss of brain mass in the prefrontal cortex.
"We wanted to
test the idea that stress causes a loss of brain synapses in humans,"
said senior author Ronald Duman, the Elizabeth Mears and House
Jameson Professor of Psychiatry and professor of neurobiology and of
pharmacology. "We show that circuits normally involved in
emotion, as well as cognition, are disrupted when this single
transcription factor is activated."
The research team
analyzed tissue of depressed and non-depressed patients donated from
a brain bank and looked for different patterns of gene activation.
The brains of patients who had been depressed exhibited lower levels
of expression in genes that are required for the function and
structure of brain synapses. Lead author and postdoctoral researcher
H.J. Kang discovered that at least five of these genes could be
regulated by a single transcription factor called GATA1. When the
transcription factor was activated, rodents exhibited depressive-like
symptoms, suggesting GATA1 plays a role not only in the loss of
connections between neurons but also in symptoms of depression.
Duman theorizes that
genetic variations in GATA1 may one day help identify people at high
risk for major depression or sensitivity to stress.
"We hope that by
enhancing synaptic connections, either with novel medications or
behavioral therapy, we can develop more effective antidepressant
therapies," Duman said.
The study was funded
by the National Institutes of Health and the Connecticut Department
of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
Other Yale authors of
the paper are Bhavya Voleti, Pawel Licznerski, Ashley Lepack, and
Mounira Banasr.
1 comment:
Thanks... Great job... The above information about Stress and depression is very nice and useful...
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