Genetic Link To Depression

Scientists say they have discovered the first solid evidence that variations in some peoples' genes may cause depression -- one of the world's most common and costly mental illnesses.

And in a rare occurrence in genetic research, a British-led international team's finding of a DNA region linked to depression has been replicated by another team from the United States who were studying an entirely separate group of people.

"What's remarkable is that both groups found exactly the same region in two separate studies," Pamela Madden, who led the U.S. team at Washington University, said in a statement.

The researchers said they hoped the findings would bring scientists closer to developing more effective treatments for patients with depression, since currently available medicines for depression only work in around half of patients.

"These findings ... will help us track down specific genes that are altered in people with this disease," said Gerome Breen of King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, who led the other research group.

The researchers said they believed many genes were involved in depression.

These findings are unlikely to benefit patients immediately, with any new drugs developed from them likely to take another 10 to 15 years. However, they will help scientists understand what may be happening at the genetic and molecular levels in people with depression.

The first study analyzed more 800 families with recurrent depression, while the second examined depression and heavy smoking in a series of families from Australia and Finland.

Both studies were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry on Monday and both teams reported a strong link between depression and genetic variations in a region called chromosome 3p25-26.

"Normally in genetic studies of depression, replication of findings is very difficult and frequently takes years to emerge, if ever," said Breen, who gave a briefing in London about the work.

Major depression affects about 20 percent of people at some point in their lives. Severe and recurring depression affects up to 4 percent of people and is notoriously hard to treat.

The World Health Organization has forecast that depression will rival heart disease as the health disorder with the highest disease burden in the world by 2020.

According to a 2006 study, depression is responsible for 100 million lost working days a year in England and Wales alone at a cost of 9 billion pounds ($14.6 billion).

Studies of families with depression have indicated that the disorder has a genetic link and scientists think around 40 percent of the risk of developing it is contributed by genes, with the rest down to environmental and other external factors.

"We are just beginning to make our way through the maze of influences on depression and this is an important step toward understanding what may be happening at the genetic and molecular levels," Michele Pergadia, who worked on Washington University study, said in a statement about the findings.

Breen's team is now conducting detailed gene sequencing studies in 40 of the families involved in the first study to try to find specific genes and variations that show a link.

(Editing by Alison Williams)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[stressisgonetoday]

10:05 AM on 05/18/2011

Take a look at our recent radio show about antiaging, stress management and healthy living with Oprah's fitness trainer Bob Greene! http://bit.ly/kVPcOP

[rezna]

04:39 PM on 05/17/2011

#1. If you have depression, anxiety, or any other debilitating mental issue you need to seek professional help. People are posting their experiences here but that doesn't mean you should use any of it as actual advice for yourself. Always seek a mental health professional if you are in need.

#2. You should always do your own research when it comes to your brain and your body. Here is some very important information for you to know if you suffer from depression:

"Antidepressants have been shown to have only a minimal effect, over that of a placebo, on patients. In an analysis of the efficacy data submitted to the U.S. FDA for approval of the six most widely prescribed antidepressants approved between 1987 and 1999, it was found that
Approximately 80% of the response to medication was duplicated in placebo control groups, and the mean difference between drug and placebo was approximately 2 points on the Hamilton Depression Scale. Improvement at the highest doses of medication was not different from improvement at the lowest doses. The proportion of the drug response duplicated by placebo was significantly greater with observed cases (OC) data than with last observation carried forward (LOCF) data. If drug and placebo effects are additive, the pharmacological effects of antidepressants are clinically negligible. If they are not additive, alternative experimental designs are needed for the evaluation of antidepressants.

[rezna]

04:47 PM on 05/17/2011

In an essay on advertisements for anti-depressants published in PLoS Medicine, social work academic Jeffrey Lacasse and neuroanatomist Jonathan Leo state that, despite this, the chemical imbalance theory is promoted by the medical industry as an explanation to depression and that their medicines correct the chemical imbalance. They also state that there is some evidence that both patients and professionals are influenced by the advertisements and patients may get prescribed medicines when other interventions are more suitable.
In a further article they state that chemical imbalance has also been cited in media as an important cause of depression despite a lack of scientific literature that shows this causality."
Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopsychiatry_controversy

[HenryDavid]

04:16 PM on 05/17/2011

Depression is as real and serious as any other illness or condition. It is often described in an understated way as being "a chemical imbalance." That's like listing cancer as simply a different form of growth in the body.

I have no doubt that it has a genetic link though I believe it can be acquired by even people who don't have a genetic link. Whether it's major depression or a persistent dysthymia, it can take a serious toll on a person's daily life or take their life itself.

I think of depression as the neglected stepchild of medicine--partly because the condition could not be "seen" as a visible infection or internal cancer could be; and partly because our technology has been so limited in terms of imaging and understanding the brain at all.

Last year, I spoke with a research scientist who specializes in treating depression in the elderly and asked him what does medicine know about the brain now. He said they have a good idea of what each part does, but they still don't know much about the interaction of the different parts. And it may be that way for some time yet.

The docs never did find a helpful and therapeutic medication for my father, and I know he suffered horribly at times. And aside from the genetic component, there is also the environmental issue which affects everyone in close contact with the sufferer.

[HamletsMill]

08:57 AM on 05/18/2011

Hi HD,

I saw your excellent post back to me about KV but there was no more room on the thread to reply there so I am replying here. I enjoyed your post very much. My dear sainted 89 year old Mother lives in Indianapolis now across the street from the main medical daughter in the family. (She still raises her Steelers flag on her flag pole every year now just to piss off all her neighbors! But the Colts are her No. 2 team. She loves Peyton Manning and got a poster of him after she trashed her Roethlisberger and Farvre posters after their problems with women! But she backs Roethlisberger again now because his 3rd down conversion ratio was back up last year!) Every time I visit Indianapolis I think of Kurt Vonnegut. "Vonnegut Hardware" was the family business, right? My Father loved him as a writer and we had his paperbacks on the book shelf growing up in the late 50's and early 60's. It was wonderful meeting him. He was a person who was exactly like what you thought he would be like in person. I somehow felt Mark Twain standing beside him. It was a very real spiritual perception. Hence my Avatar here on HP! I think of that experience every day. Bless both of their luminous souls where ever they now are in the Universe!

[HenryDavid]

04:25 PM on 05/18/2011

When I look at the photos of KV, I automatically think of Mark Twain. At a minimum, Kurt must have a spiritual seed from Mark Twain. I believe Kurt even named his son Mark, perhaps as a nod to the master.

Vonnegut Hardware was started by Kurt's grandfather. It was sold a few years back to a larger chain. Kurt's father was an architect, and KT's brother was a physicist, as I remember.

Last year, a small museum was created by admirers to honor KV. I haven't been downtown to see it yet but will. HP had a note on this, and it is below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-sledge/vonnegut-in-midland-city_b_790190.html#s195539&title=The_Kurt_Vonnegut

[flossophy]

04:05 AM on 05/17/2011

guilty!

[gmb007]

12:34 AM on 05/17/2011

How is it that one may never give a second thought to cancer, heart or diabetes medications but thoroughly condemn medications for diseases and illnesses of the brain?

One must rationalize that the brain is somehow not part of the physical body.

[rezna]

04:40 PM on 05/17/2011

Are you a doctor? What education do you have? Why is it okay for you to espouse everything you believe on here, readily giving advice to people, yet berate other people's advice that is in conflict with your own?

[rezna]

04:51 PM on 05/17/2011

I don't know about you, but I'd much rather exercise, eat good and healthy food, and live an active life than ever have to take those medications. Depression is the same way: it is preventative.

[GodlessHeathen23]

09:59 PM on 05/17/2011

You assume that those us us who suffer from mental disorders don't exercise, eat good and healthy foods, and lead an active life. I suffer from debilitating anxiety/depression, and when I had my last major breakdown (that I am still recovering from over a year and a half later) I was training for a marathon and eating healthier than anyone I know. I still do, and I still run 8 to 10 miles a day and mountain bike on a regular basis. If I don't take the drugs, I simply cannot function, period.

I hate it when people assume that you have depression because you aren't exercising enough, or you need to eat more vegetables. It's a heck of a lot more complex than that.

[Slowfuriousand10hrs]

11:54 PM on 05/16/2011

Alot of things can trigger depression, it can be strictly chemical or sociologically induced, heriditary/genetic, it can also be choice. All of the above, or just a few. I'm not sure what agenda the study has but this is pretty old news. Not to be able to differentiate why a person feels a certain way when your getting paid what these people get paid is well.....depressing.

[gmb007]

09:23 PM on 05/16/2011

There are some here who say that depression is basically “all in the head” (with or without “childhood wounding” and “family dynamics”) - no genetics, no physical basis - that all you need is talk therapy.

In certain situations and certain people, therapy is indeed very valuable, either alone or in addition to medication and other treatments.

However, to push Therapy-as-the-One-and-Only-True-CURE is unbelievably IRRESPONSIBLE and downright DANGEROUS.

>>> Know what some of these folks are really implying?

That depression is basically some character flaw, some personality disorder and/or worse, a moral failing that, if you only tried hard enough - you know, “personal responsibility” and “bootstraps” - , you could simply get over with enough talk therapy.

To that, I say bull ####.

Unless one has personally experienced the horrific ravages of depression or other mental illnesses firsthand, they are only rank amateurs on the front lines and in the trenches, offering their second-hand-textbook-theory-at-best expertise.

Only the soldier in battle knows what it’s really like.

[Slowfuriousand10hrs]

11:54 PM on 05/16/2011

F&F. My sentiments exactly!!!

[ExcellentObservation]

12:08 AM on 05/17/2011

Very well said.

[emmanuel goldstein]

08:30 PM on 05/16/2011

Depression, much like ADHD, is a disease of the society which has symptoms that manifest in the individual.

Why not treat the disease instead of the symptoms?

[bacaja]

08:00 PM on 05/16/2011

Actually the real cause of depression is REALITY.

[Theatrixnyc]

08:10 PM on 05/16/2011

and not realizing you can change, your reality. Sometimes, that's all it takes. If you can't change, and you're stuck, you're gonna need some help.

[unami]

06:28 PM on 05/16/2011

I think most people who have depression know that it is inherited. People do not take the condition as a serious thing and often make light of it. The truth is it is as debilitating as any other serious disease

[dancinggrandma]

06:27 PM on 05/16/2011

As a practicing therapist for three decades, I do grant that there may be some genetic aspect to depression, however, my belief and my experience consistently shows that working through family of origin dynamics and childhood wounding releases people who've been depressed for even decades to live joyful lives. As with alcoholism, generations of alcoholics would seem to indict genetics, yet we've witnessed millions of these folks overcome the "disease" through AA and treatment. My belief is that good therapy (identifying and resolving childhood wounding) is the best and only way out of recurrent depression. Genetics - we can't control it. Forming a human relationship in which the pain of early wounding can be resolve - we can do.

[gmb007]

08:09 PM on 05/16/2011

So, as a therapist, your answer to all depression is therapy, more therapy...and more therapy.

>>> When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Yeah, and how many alcoholics and depressives commit suicide each year, too? Alcoholism and depression very often go hand in hand.

All depression is NOT created equal - there are many different causes...even taking some very common non-psychotropic medications can cause depression in some people.

You need to quit pushing your one-cure-fits-all - it's untrue and very dangerous.

[dancinggrandma]

08:32 PM on 05/16/2011

You have every right to express your doubts and suspicions. All I can say is that in three decades, what I'm sharing is my experience. I believe that, if therapy/meds fall short of resolving this awful disease, it's due to poor quality therapy. I am not "pushing" anything; I am sharing my real life experience, both personally and professionally.

[gmb007]

08:15 PM on 05/16/2011

And what if the depressive person has no real history of "childhood wounding"?

Not everyone's damaged by bad family dynamics.

How do you explain their depression?

Do you simply search for "wounding" until you find it?

[dancinggrandma]

08:35 PM on 05/16/2011

I've never in all these years encountered one single individual who did not have a history
of childhood wounding. I already posted that bi-polar is an illness with largely genetic roots, but non- bi polar depression is rooted in early childhood. Again (and I have to wonder how you've been either harmed or not helped by therapy), that which happens early in life has, in my experience, always lead to the root of depression.

[Tom Piteo]

06:19 PM on 05/16/2011

My beautiful 17 year old daughter just lost her valiant battle with sever depression last month. It is wrong for people to make jokes about it or laugh at someone who is depressed. I watched my very tallented and yes"gifted" daughter slide into a blackhole that she, her therapist, psychiatrist and us her parents were unable to keep her from. The pain of her passing is horrible, so horrible I would not wish it on my worst enemy. So when people make light of the condition it angers me. How many people would make fun of Cancer patients or Heart disease patients ect. This disease is like cancer, cancer of the brain and as such it should be funded and talked about like that. So yes when big Pharm says they have something I am extatic. Maybe if this link to genetics had been found 10 to 15 years earlier my daughter might still be with me and my familiy.

[carly after]

06:30 PM on 05/16/2011

I'm sorry for your loss. I don't think people realize how horrible depression is - its so much more than just being sad.

[HamletsMill]

06:37 PM on 05/16/2011

My prayers are with you and your family kind Sir. I will try to send emotional and spiritual support to help you in any way I can.

[Tom Piteo]

06:38 PM on 05/16/2011

thankyou

[Independent1969]

05:36 PM on 05/16/2011

So "scientists" at Big Pharma have found that a gene is responsible for all your negative emotions huh? Has nothing to do with the fact that you might have just lost a significant other, or came back from war, or have been abused, or lost a job, or that you are overwhelmed, or exhausted, or malnurished, or bankrupt or that things in this world are completely insane, unjust and depressing. It all just has to do with a depression gene that Big Pharma will soon have specially designed pills for. Fantastic news. Thanks for bringing it to us HuffPo.

[ConfuciusSay-]

05:49 PM on 05/16/2011

"and scientists think around 40 percent of the risk of developing it is contributed by genes, with the rest down to environmental and other external factors"

[Independent1969]

06:08 PM on 05/16/2011

How's that Big Pharma koolaid taste?

[carly after]

06:26 PM on 05/16/2011

There's a theory called the stress-diathesis model - basically it says that you have something (like genes) that put you at risk for developing depression and then a stress pushes you over the edge. It helps explain why some people can suffer abuse and not become depressed, while others do become depressed.
Every psychologist and psychiatrist would agree that there are both genetic and environmental components to depression.

[HamletsMill]

06:39 PM on 05/16/2011

Yes. Anyone that has experience with this in their extended family will tell you there are two components as you have very clearly expressed. Well said. F&F.

[gmb007]

08:27 PM on 05/16/2011

Thank you for adding to the informed and sane discussion. :)

[Venmaker1]

05:23 PM on 05/16/2011

Even in a world seemingly in chaos we receive glimmers of a better tomorrow everyday. This is great news.

[dancinggrandma]

06:51 PM on 05/16/2011

I totally disagree with this. I'm actually appalled that the public is being bamboozled into believing that this is a genetic disease, much less resolvable by medication. This is a lie, and a lie that will lead to countless suicides and misery. Depression is largely a result of people not being able to handle real-life situations due to early wounding and witnessing of family dynamics which don't work in adult life. I'll grant that this is indeed passed down from one generation to the next, but this does not make it "genetic".

[rezna]

06:59 PM on 05/16/2011

I completely agree.

[gmb007]

07:48 PM on 05/16/2011

Where is your PROOF that depression is not genetic?

Where do you get your info?

Consider this:

Where's the mind? In the brain.

Where's the brain? In the body.

It's as much genetic as any other bodily illness or disease.

[SaddleBum]

05:22 PM on 05/16/2011

of course it is genetic.

breed a nervous mare with a nervous stallion. the offspring will be nervous.

[jo-nathan]

06:30 PM on 05/16/2011

Cowboy Worldview.