Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Solid Data Linking Genetics and Depression

Recently, scientists have made an important breakthrough for one of the world's most serious and crippling illnesses. Originally discovered by a group of British scientists, a group in the US replicated the same findings in a completely separate study of people. It has been found that there is genetic variation, specifically in chromosome 3p25-26, in people who experience depression. In science, result replication is extremely hard to come by and if discovered, usually takes many years. This study is ground breaking because the same exact results were found by two isolated studies almost immediately.
Currently, around 20% of people experience major depression through out their lives, while 4% of people struggle their entire lives. It was even predicted by the World Health Organization that depression will, by 2020, beat out heart disease in being the number one most burdensome disease. The illness is very difficult to treat due to complexity and lack of understanding, but these results will help doctors and scientists to better understand and treat the disorder and in addition, will shape new and more successful medicine.
Being among the 4% of individuals who throughout their lifetime have and continue to struggle with depression, I am elated at this news. I believe that Major Depressive Disorder is one of the most misunderstood and downplayed illnesses in the world. There is so much taboo associated with mental illnesses and such a great deal that people without the disease do not understand. Seeing science progress and become closer to finding the genetic root of this disease is a step to better treatment, education, understanding, and lives.

3 comments:

  1. I couldn't agree with you more, depression is extremely damaging. Not only to the individual suffering from it, but to those around them as well. Any type of advancement in the research of this disorder will help more people than just the ones who suffer from it.

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  2. I think this was a very important piece of research. Many people suffer with depression every day and any means of making life easier for them is great. I do believe that due to the complex nature of this disease that there needs to be more funding to study it further.

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  3. Everyone in some way shape or form has experienced some type of depression in their lifetime. Many people do not understand the complexity of what it would be like to live that way everyday of their life. Depression is such a deep illness that any information can help researchers try to find a cure.

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