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Category: neuroscience – Page 811

Using genetic and survey data gathered from individuals via the UK Biobank, 23andMe, and the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, they set out to see if any of the genes, or gene variants, were associated with depression either alone or when combined with an environmental factor like childhood trauma or socioeconomic diversity.

A new study assessing data from 620,000 individuals found that the 18 most highly-studied candidate genes for depression are no more associated with depression than randomly chosen genes.

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Research out of the University of Colorado Boulder has dashed research into a potential link between certain genes and depression. The conclusion follows an analysis of both survey and genetic data from more than half a million people, which found that 18 candidate genes and random genes were equally associated with cases of depression.

The new study, which was recently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, looked at 18 highly-studied ‘candidate genes,’ each of which had previously been studied in association with depression a minimum of 10 times. The results were called “a little bit stunning” by study senior author Matthew Keller.

According to the study, these 18 candidate genes weren’t associated with depression more than other randomly chosen genes. Past research into the genes that had indicated a link between the two were called false positives, though the researchers caution that this doesn’t mean depression isn’t heritable.

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With its pudgy body, tired eyes and hair loss, the lower mouse could easily be the father of the sprightly and alert animal nestling alongside.

But they are actually the same age, the result of extraordinary trials of drugs which are slowing down or even reversing the ageing process.

Scientists now believe that ageing itself is responsible for many major conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, arthritis, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. And they think they have found a way to turn it off.

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It is fitting, then, that the groundbreaking research he’s done on mental health has, in a very real way, improved the lives of millions of people in the developing world.

Dr. Patel is the 2019 recipient of the prestigious John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award, which recognizes “his world-leading research in global mental health, providing greater knowledge on the burden and the determinants of mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries and pioneering approach for the treatment of mental health in low-resource settings.”

Dr. Patel, a professor of global health at Harvard University, said, modestly, that his greatest achievement is “having generated knowledge to change hearts and minds about the importance of mental health everywhere in the world.”

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PARIS (AP) — The French government has outlined measures to ensure early diagnostic testing for young children with autism and help for them going to school.

In a statement following a Cabinet meeting Monday, the government promised that expenses linked to diagnostic testing will be fully reimbursed.

Measures include opening specific classes at preschools and elementary schools, and putting in place teacher and medical staff training and research to better understand autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder.

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Major depression, obesity and chronic pain are all linked to the effects of one protein, called “FK506-binding protein 51,” or FKBP51. Until now, efforts to inhibit this target have been hampered by the difficulty of finding something specific enough to do the job and not affect similar proteins. Now a research group has developed a highly selective compound that can effectively block FKBP51 in mice, relieving chronic pain and having positive effects on diet-induced obesity and mood. The new compound also could have applications in alcoholism and brain cancer.