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Title : Depression Can Physically Alter Your DNA
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Depression Can Physically Alter Your DNA

by Caroline Reid
iflscience

Depression not only change their mentality also leaves marks on their DNA, scientists from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics report ( WTCHG ). The find was so surprising that scientists were initially met with skepticism and admit that require a substantial amount of convince to believe that it was merely a coincidence.

as described in Current Biology , the discovery began with an examination of the DNA of more than 11,000 , many of whom had a history of depression related to stress, but healthy controls for comparison were also included. Initially, scientists were looking for a partner with an increased risk of depression gene. Instead, researchers found that depression related to stress correlates with an increase in the number of seconds cell genome. Mitochondrial DNA

photo credit: RAJ CREATIONZS, via Shutterstock. The image shows the 3D representation of Mitochodria

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell: create energy for cells to flourish. The increase in mitochondrial DNA of people with depression has interesting implications. Mitochondria have difficulty creating energy for cells with the same efficiency when under stress, so that the body needs to compensate and create more and more mitochondria to keep up with the growing demand for energy.

taking this a step further, then the scientists tested the molecular changes in mice who were subjected to four weeks of stress. They found that mice not only showed the expected increase in mitochondrial DNA, but also that their telomeres had reduced in length. Telomeres are small caps at the end of our DNA strands shielding chromosomes from degradation and thus the loss of genetic information. Every time a cell makes a copy of itself, the length of telomeres protection becomes a little shorter until the cell can no longer divide .

The erosion telomeres in these stressed mice indicates that stress can decrease life expectancy own. But it is not all doom and gloom, as the researchers also discovered that changes in both telomere length and the increase in mitochondrial DNA are largely reversible . After the mice were free of stress, their DNA was also recovered.

So why depression induced by stress, classically considered as a disorder of mood, have these effects at the cellular level in the body? There are lots of causes of stress: lack of food or a history of abuse, for example. Stress lowers the efficiency of mitochondria, and as a result, the body creates more to protect your metabolism. In a sense, depression may be the answer body to environmental stress.

This study is an exciting potential for the future treatment of depression. Since the molecular changes in DNA are reversible, it is now possible to assess the success of treatment is at a molecular level. Possible future indicators for success would be a reduction in the number of mitochondria and restored telomere length.

"Depression Can Physically Alter Your DNA", article source: riseearth.com

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