November 26, 2019
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, one in five Canadians experience mental health problems. In the industrialized world Canada has the dubious honor of having the third highest youth suicide rate. These sobering statistics highlight the need for a better understanding of the causes and treatments of mental health issues.
Researchers from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have been searching for genetic causes for depressive symptoms and have now been able to identify seven distinct genetic regions. They have been able to find three regions on the genome that are linked with sleep problems, two linked with loss of pleasure in life, one for depressed mood and another linked with changes in appetite.
Because symptoms of depression can differ so greatly from patient to patient, the Australian researchers stress that it is important not to roll all the symptoms all up together as one entity, and rather look at exactly which genes are involved. This targeted approach would allow for a tailored treatment plan for each patient, which would be a vast improvement on the current trial and error approach with medications.
Source: Brisbane Times
Read more: http://ow.ly/6asA50xivMP
