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New Genetic Disease

New genetic risk factors for depression identified across global populations


New genetic risk factors for depression have been identified across all major global populations for the first time, allowing scientists to predict risk of depression regardless of ethnicity.

The world's largest and most diverse genetic study ever into major depression has revealed nearly 300 previously unknown genetic links to the condition, experts say.

100 of the newly discovered genetic variations – small differences in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene – were identified due to the inclusion of people of African, East Asian, Hispanic and South Asian descent, the study found.

Previous research into the genetics of depression has focused primarily on white populations that originally descended from people living in Europe. Therapies developed using genetic approaches may therefore not be effective in other ethnicities, widening existing health inequalities.

Each single genetic variant has a very small effect on the overall risk of developing depression. If a person has multiple variants, these small effects can add up, increasing their risk.

The research team were able to more accurately predict an individual's risk of depression by taking into account the newly identified variants.

The international team of scientists, led by the University of Edinburgh and King's College London, looked at anonymised genetic data from more than five million people in 29 countries worldwide. One in four individuals included in the study were from non-European ancestries.

Researchers identified a total of 700 variations in the genetic code of individuals linked to the development of depression, almost half of which had never been associated with the condition before, implicating 308 specific genes.

The identified genetic variants were linked to neurons - a type of brain cell - across multiple brain regions, including areas which control emotion.

The findings offer new insight into depression's impact on the brain and present possible new targets for treatment, experts say.

The research team highlight the existing drugs pregabalin and modafinil – used to treat chronic pain and the sleeping condition narcolepsy, respectively – which could potentially be repurposed for the treatment of depression, based on the study findings.

However, the team caution that further studies and clinical trials are needed to explore the potential of the drugs in patients with depression.

The study, funded by NIH, Wellcome and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, is published in the journal Cell.

The research team from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium involved scientists from all continents, including studies from South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, the USA, Australia, Taiwan and China.

gene mutation, genomic sequencing, rare disorders, single nucleotide polymorphism, epigenetic alterations, copy number variations, chromosomal abnormalities, mitochondrial disorders, autosomal inheritance, recessive traits, precision medicine, CRISPR technology, genetic counseling, exome analysis, hereditary syndromes, phenotypic variability, non-coding DNA mutations, gene therapy breakthroughs, transcriptomics

#Genetics #RareDiseases #GeneMutation #GenomicSequencing #PrecisionMedicine #CRISPR #GeneTherapy #GeneticCounseling #HereditarySyndromes #ChromosomalAbnormalities #Epigenetics #ExomeAnalysis #PhenotypicVariability #MolecularDiagnostics #RareSyndromes #InheritedDisorders #MitochondrialDiseases #CNVs #Transcriptomics #GeneticHealth

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