"Scientists Research Gene Linked To Depression" - Carrie Wells

Although there are medications to treat depression, many scientists aren’t sure why they are effective and why they don’t work for everyone. Gene therapy is starting to be used in the treatment of some types of cancers, but science had not yet advanced to the point where it can be used for treating neurological issues in human patients. A more likely treatment would be a drug that targets the gene’s activity directly. “I think this is a major step toward our understanding of the precise maladaptive changes that occur in response to stress,” said Vanna Zachariou, PhD, associate of neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “It can be a more efficient way to target depression because it’s not simply targeting monoamine receptors or dopamine but targeting molecular adaptations that occur. It doesn’t act necessarily as the drugs we have available, so it might create an alternative avenue to treat depression.”

- Vanna Zachariou, PhD, Associate Professor, Neuroscience, Pharmalogical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

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