Can Blood Tests Show Postpartum Depression?

    In this Smithsonian Magazine article, a San Diego company plans to launch a blood test that predicts the risk of postpartum depression with more than 80% accuracy. MyLuma would be the first test to use biomarkers that are commercially available to indicate if there is an onset of a psychiatric disorder. This is similar to how blood tests can detect signs of cancer and diabetes, so that pregnant women can know if they are at risk for postpartum depression. This would allow preparation and "reduce the stigma that keeps women from seeking help", as said by Jennifer Payne.

    This had come about when Jennifer Payne, a reproductive psychiatrist, asked why this drop in hormones after childbirth affects some women more than others. She teamed up with Zachary Kaminsky, an epigeneticist, who helped compare female mice given high levels of estrogen compared to those without. They found that estrogen caused specific patterns of methylation inside the hippocampus, which controls mood. Now knowing what to look for in blood samples, they tested women who had a history of mood disorders. They located two estrogen-sensitive genes, HP1BP3 and TTC9B, where more than 80% of those with postpartum depression had one gene with more of a methylation pattern than the other. These changes can even be caught in early pregnancy.

    Not all of the telltale signs are the same in people, and the hunt for more biomarkers is still on. This is a very helpful discovery that can really turn someone's life around. The ability to catch onto postpartum depression can lead to preparation and understanding of these feelings with a professional, instead of finding out after having the child. Helping expectant mothers understand these feelings and why they may happen could eliminate the shame that some mothers have in these emotions and get the proper help they need.

Why Brittle Bones Aren’t Just a Woman’s Problem

 

        Osteoporosis is a progressive condition that is influenced both by environmental factors and by being genetically predisposed to it. This article mentions that men are often overlooked in being screened for the disease, despite the fact that they have similar risks to women. 

 

        A key genetic component of Osteoporosis is bone mineral density. Bone mineral density is highly heritable, about 60-80%. Specifically, individuals with a history of osteoporosis inherit variants of genes that can reduce gene formation, weaken collagen structure, or change calcium/vitamin D metabolism. These variants are COL1A1, LRP5, and ESR1. The rate of osteoporosis in men has likely increased due to inherited susceptibility and environmental factors. The article also mentions that sex-linked genetic pathways, such as estrogen and testosterone, can influence when the disease appears in men versus women. 

 

        This article exposes a big health issue that is very overlooked in men. Overall, this article is trying to call out that men should be getting screened more for osteoporosis, and it is not just a "women's disease". Especially since it has a large genetic component. Also, since men often have worse fracture recovery as compared to women, they should definitely get screened for osteoporosis after that. 

References 

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2025, September 20). Osteoporosis — Symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/osteoporosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351968

Span, P. (2025, October 4). Why brittle bones aren’t just a woman’s problem. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/health/osteoporosis-men.html

Increased Risk of Heart Disease for Women

Heart disease is the primary cause of death in the US, where someone will have a heart attack every 34 seconds, and where a person will die from a heart disease-related event every minute. Scientists believe they have found a that is associated with an increased risk of heart attack or stroke in women, but not in men. The gene in question is called BCAR1, which is involved in many processes in the body that are affected by estrogen, the female sex hormone. The scientists, led by Prof. Steve Humphries of the British Heart Foundation, are from University College London and they studied a group of genes that have been linked to an increased risk of disease in the arteries. They looked at data from 4,000 men and women from across Europe, comparing their genes, artery thickness and artery health.

Two versions of the BCAR1 gene were examined and analyzed: the "GG" version, which is considered high risk for heart disease and a low risk "AA" version. 33% of the women studied had the high risk GG version of the BCAR1 gene. These women were found to have a 6.1% higher risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or diseased blood vessels, compared to the with those with the low risk version, who had a 2.5% risk of such an event. Men with the GG version did not seem to be affected. Dr. Shannon Amoils, of the BHF, recommends women to avoid smoking and eat healthily in order to reduce the risk of heart disease. 

I found this article to be very interesting and informative. I had no idea a single gene could play such a big part in such a harmful disease. I am most shocked about how this gene does not affect men, as it does with women. Men who have the GG version were not affected, but women were, which is very shocking. I hope these scientists carry on their research to develop a drug that combats this gene because having a disease in the most important organ of one's body is not good, and it could lead to death.

Original article here 

Breast Cancer Risk Driven By Estrogen-Raising Gene

A recent study says that scientists have discovered the first direct connection between levels of estrogen in younger women and the risk of breast cancer. Researchers discovered that a change in a gene can affect how of estrogen is broken down, and it is related to a decrease in the risk of breast cancer risk in pre-menopausal women. Sex hormones such as estrogen play an important role in breast cancer development. Dr Olivia Fletcher from the ICR's Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre said, "This is the first time anyone has found a DNA change that is directly associated both with hormone levels and breast cancer risk in younger women. Scientists have suspected this link exists, but no one has been able to prove it until now.”

Researchers at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the London School of Hygeien and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and their team in the UK and Ireland sought to determine which genes are involved in the synthesis or breakdown of sex hormones. The team measured the hormone levels in over 700 healthy pre-menopausal women's urine and blood in a process designed to take into consideration hormone level variations during menstrual cycles because it is known to impact the synthesis or breakdown of sex hormones.

This study found one genetic variant, estrone glucuronide, appeared more frequently in women with lower urinary levels of a particular breakdown product. The variant was linked to a 22% reduction in estrone glucuronide levels and consisted of one single letter change in the DNA at position 7q22.1, which is close to the CYP3A gene. The researchers found this particular variant in another study with 10,551 breast cancer patients and 17,535 healthy controls. They found that the change in DNA change seemed to be more frequent healthy controls. They found a 9% reduction in breast cancer risk in women diagnosed at the age of 50 or younger, but no reduction was observed in women above the age of 50 years.

CYP3A4 belongs to the family of CYP3A genes, which is responsible for breaking down approximately 50% of all clinically used drugs, including some used in breast cancer therapy. This means that their findings may have other uses, and the research may be an important step in further understanding of the link between hormones and breast cancer. These findings have an effect on the monitoring and treatment of breast cancer in the future.

Women of African at Greater Risk for Breast Cancer

Researchers have a identified the location of a genetic risk fact for a special type of breast cancer. This type of breast cancer, known as estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer, is a form of cancer that does not properly express the estrogen receptor and therefore it does not respond well to drug treatments. This type of cancer is especially prevalent in women of African descent. Studies have shown them to be more susceptive to progesterone receptor-negative and human epidermal growth factor-negative breast cancer, as well as estrogen receptor-negative strain. Researchers have linked this phenomenon to the presence of an allele near the TERT gene on chromosome 5, strongly correlating to an increased risk for estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer. This genetic variant then in turn shows a greater link to the other two receptor-negative cancers. This region of the human genome have been previously researched for links to other types of cancer as well, such as ovarian and lung cancer. While studies are still be conducted as to how this allele actually works, researchers believe that once it is completely understood, it will give insight into other types of cancer as well.

http://www.healthcanal.com/cancers/22740-Genetic-Basis-for-Aggressive-Breast-Cancer-Women-African-Ancestry-Identified.html (Article Link)