Gene therapy against depression
Jessica Berman, Voice of AmericaPerhaps the time is not far off when gene therapy will become a remedy for depression.
In any case, the results of recent research in this area set up specialists in an optimistic mood.
Scientists have managed to identify the so-called protein p11, localized in the brain and is one of the factors contributing to the occurrence of deep depression. This area of the brain, which experts call the "nucleus accumbens", as well as the center of reinforcement (nucleus accumbens), is "responsible" for feelings of pleasure and satisfaction from the reward received.
According to Michael Kaplit from the Department of neurological surgery at the New York Presbyterian Medical Center named after Vail Cornell, the experimental mice that lacked the p11 gene had all the signs of deep depression. The animals showed complete passivity during the experiment – even then, they were swung by hanging by the tail. Nor did they show any interest in sweetened water, which is usually so pleasing to the mouse's heart.
According to Kaplit, the study of brain tissues belonging to people suffering from deep depression allowed scientists to conclude that there was an insignificant content of p11 in the reinforcement center – compared to those who did not have this ailment.
"Therefore, if a person has a low level of p11 in this area of the brain, if he has depression and if animals with a low level of p11 behave in such a way that it also suggests depression, then it is natural to assume that this protein plays an important role in the occurrence of the disease – not the only important, but essential."
Michael Kaplit clarifies: taking mice in which the p11 protein was completely absent, scientists embedded a copy of the protein in a harmless virus and injected it into the brains of mice suffering from depression.
"When we restored it in adults, the protein completely normalized their behavior, all signs of depression disappeared, and the mice returned to normal," says the researcher. "This means that if you have a low level of p11, and this is the cause of depression, then it can potentially be cured through gene therapy."
Kaplit and his colleagues also tested methods of treating Parkinson's disease – the results were also encouraging.
In the near future, researchers hope to begin experiments on gene therapy to develop treatment regimens for patients suffering from severe forms of depression – those who are not helped by antidepressants.
Article by Guang Chen, Roy Twyman and Husseini K. Manji "p11 and Gene Therapy for Severe Psychiatric Disorders: A Practical Goal?" published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru26.10.2010