Depression and it's link to genetics
Document Type
Event
Department
Biological Sciences
Abstract
Major depression disorder (MDD) affects 11.7% of young adolescents and 16.6% of adults in the United States. Genetics is likely to play some sort of role. Studies have found the cause for MDD to be rather elusive, but a degenerate repeat polymorphic region found in the promoter of SLC6A4 (named 5-HTTLPR) is associated with two variations, the long allele (L) and short allele (s). The short allele (s) lowers the expression of SLC6A4, this results in a decrease in the reuptake of serotonin. The study has too few subjects to definitively show this as a risk locus. Another locus that is associated with MDD is SLC6A3, a gene encoding a dopamine transporter. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) scan many different genomes from many different people to identify genetic markers that can be used to predict a disorder. More loci like SLC6A4 and SLC6A3 have been identified. This literature review will examine the results of many scientists doing this type of research on MDD.
Depression and it's link to genetics
Major depression disorder (MDD) affects 11.7% of young adolescents and 16.6% of adults in the United States. Genetics is likely to play some sort of role. Studies have found the cause for MDD to be rather elusive, but a degenerate repeat polymorphic region found in the promoter of SLC6A4 (named 5-HTTLPR) is associated with two variations, the long allele (L) and short allele (s). The short allele (s) lowers the expression of SLC6A4, this results in a decrease in the reuptake of serotonin. The study has too few subjects to definitively show this as a risk locus. Another locus that is associated with MDD is SLC6A3, a gene encoding a dopamine transporter. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) scan many different genomes from many different people to identify genetic markers that can be used to predict a disorder. More loci like SLC6A4 and SLC6A3 have been identified. This literature review will examine the results of many scientists doing this type of research on MDD.
