Pathophysiology
Depression is a mood disorder that affects an estimated 350 million people around the world (World Health Organization, 2015). Depression is different from usual mood fluctuations and responses to everyday challenges. Depression is a serious condition that can cause feelings of sadness, hopelessness, emptiness, worthlessness, guilt or shame. People affected by depression can lose interest in activities that were once meaningful to them, have problems with concentration, experience a loss of appetite or overeating, have trouble sleeping or oversleep, or experience severe fatigue and headaches. The worst symptoms of depression are thinking about, attempting or actually committing suicide.
The underlying pathophysiology of depression …show more content…
During a study in Germany, researchers performed a genome-wide association study on over 15,000 individuals. During that study, they identified gene SLC6A15, which codes for neuronal amino acid transporter proteins, and also acts as a susceptibility gene for depression. Subjects in the study who were not depressed showed lower expression of SLC6A15 in their hippocampus compared to study subjects who did suffer from depression. The authors suggest that “lower SLC6A15 expression, especially in the hippocampus could increase an individual’s stress susceptibility by altering neuronal integrity and excitatory neurotransmission in this brain region” (p. 260). This basically means that those with lower SLC6A15 have a higher chance of coping with stress and not developing depression. Stress is thought to alter excitatory neurotransmission, so by having a gene that could potentially help you not be as stressed out, neurotransmitters in your brain should produce and function …show more content…
The side effects of some of the medications could potentially be worse than the depression. If there is a genetic component that could be used to reevaluate the way both depression and antidepressant medication work on an individual basis, this could create a whole new type of depression medication that can actually work for people based on their genes. With a depression medication that works on an individual basis, severe side effects can be reduced, resulting in fewer cases of suicide each year.
Now that a specific gene has been identified, scientists can further the research to determine why people have more of this gene, and why people have less of it. Does it have anything to do with a particular race or sex? Do more people have it in a certain part of the world? Are there any environmental factors that could contribute to a person having an excess amount of this gene? Doctors could literally begin testing people at birth to determine if they are at risk for suffering depression during their life. The possibilities are endless with this new
Depression is a mood disorder that affects an estimated 350 million people around the world (World Health Organization, 2015). Depression is different from usual mood fluctuations and responses to everyday challenges. Depression is a serious condition that can cause feelings of sadness, hopelessness, emptiness, worthlessness, guilt or shame. People affected by depression can lose interest in activities that were once meaningful to them, have problems with concentration, experience a loss of appetite or overeating, have trouble sleeping or oversleep, or experience severe fatigue and headaches. The worst symptoms of depression are thinking about, attempting or actually committing suicide.
The underlying pathophysiology of depression …show more content…
During a study in Germany, researchers performed a genome-wide association study on over 15,000 individuals. During that study, they identified gene SLC6A15, which codes for neuronal amino acid transporter proteins, and also acts as a susceptibility gene for depression. Subjects in the study who were not depressed showed lower expression of SLC6A15 in their hippocampus compared to study subjects who did suffer from depression. The authors suggest that “lower SLC6A15 expression, especially in the hippocampus could increase an individual’s stress susceptibility by altering neuronal integrity and excitatory neurotransmission in this brain region” (p. 260). This basically means that those with lower SLC6A15 have a higher chance of coping with stress and not developing depression. Stress is thought to alter excitatory neurotransmission, so by having a gene that could potentially help you not be as stressed out, neurotransmitters in your brain should produce and function …show more content…
The side effects of some of the medications could potentially be worse than the depression. If there is a genetic component that could be used to reevaluate the way both depression and antidepressant medication work on an individual basis, this could create a whole new type of depression medication that can actually work for people based on their genes. With a depression medication that works on an individual basis, severe side effects can be reduced, resulting in fewer cases of suicide each year.
Now that a specific gene has been identified, scientists can further the research to determine why people have more of this gene, and why people have less of it. Does it have anything to do with a particular race or sex? Do more people have it in a certain part of the world? Are there any environmental factors that could contribute to a person having an excess amount of this gene? Doctors could literally begin testing people at birth to determine if they are at risk for suffering depression during their life. The possibilities are endless with this new