
Through
genetics many traits are passed down both physically and mentally; categorizing
depression and bipolar disorder as a gene that can be inherited is not as far
fetch as some many believe. A study on whether these disorders can be found in
ones genes will be conducted by a genetics company
23 and Me along with
assistance from Milken Institute and company for pharmaceuticals known as
Lundbeck. These companies hope to acquire data from 15,000 people with
depressive disorder and 10,000 people with bipolar disorder, all who have been
medically diagnosed. To be looked at other than just the genetic aspect of the
person will be their cognitive reaction through completing a total of 9 surveys
online that will be given monthly. For the researchers to gather data on
possible phenotypes that could cause these disorders, each person involved with
submit a swab of salvia that will be studied. These companies understand that
all cases of each disorder may not be from genetics since it is known already
that many are due to environmental factors but looking into the possible cause
in genetic reasoning could be groundbreaking still. From this project the
researchers hope to be able to come up with potential therapies that could
help people who suffer from these disorders. The companies are readying the
necessary requirements for this project and currently are looking for
applicants that would like to use information on their disorder to possibly
help others going through the same hardships in the future.
I actually read an article somewhere on the dailymail of a study that confirmed shorter telomeres to be more frequent among people with bipolar parents, leading to a quick ageing among those individuals. So this is a very interesting experiment and would definitely be following up closely with how it turns out because more effective/efficient treatments wouldn't just benefit the patients but their offsprings as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is very important, especially where there will be people with similar disorders who wont feel alone in the process but be accompanied.
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