A Gene for Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD?

I’ve often wondered why some people are tormented by anxiety and depression while others are not, and how having parents with similar afflictions seems to translate into higher incidence among family members.

Phillip M. Newton, Ph.D., writing in Psychology Today, takes a look at the science behind FK506 binding protein number 5, which might hold the genetic explanation that’s long been assumed.

FKBP5 is part of the body’s stress-sensing system, and this system responds to stress by releasing the hormone cortisol which drives the biological response to stress stimulus. If the FKBP5 gene is slightly altered from person to person, that might explain the hyper-reactive response common to anxiety and PTSD sufferers.

Certainly, slight variations in the FKBP5 gene could account for part of our problem, but what about environmental factors – the other half of the nature vs. nuture formula?

Research around FKBP5 specifically has shown that history of child abuse shows correlation to later development of PTSD. From the article:

Researchers at Emory University, led by Kerry Ressler M.D. Ph.D, have identified four variants of the FKBP5 gene that are more commonly found in people who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. Many unfortunate factors contribute toward the development of posttraumatic stress disorder, with a history of child abuse being one of the most significant. Importantly, the genetic variants of FKBP5 are found in PTSD patients with a history of child abuse, but not PTSD patients who do not have a history of child abuse, suggesting a gene- environment interaction during childhood that can predict the development of posttraumatic stress disorder.

As more research develops on the genetic make-up of anxiety disorders, perhaps we’ll see the resulting data used as part of a gene-therapy approach to treatment in the coming years.

Childhood Anxiety Can Start Early

As an adult with anxiety challenges, I’ve often wondered at what point in my life I climbed aboard the anxiety train.

A new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry posits that up to 15% of preschool children may have “atypically high depression and anxiety levels”, a number that I find statistically significant and somewhat surprising.

What wasn’t surprising was the genetic aspect of childhood anxiety documented. Children with high levels of anxiety and depression are more likely to have mothers who suffer from depression.

The study revealed that children as young as a year old demonstrate indications of higher risk. Given how quickly kids develop in that first year, it makes sense to think that the genetic similarities might come into play, but for me, it raises questions around environmental factors too.

The concept of preventative intervention in very young children with significant risk factors might be a good way to address core issues before they have a chance to lead to atypical behaviors and suffering. It will be interesting to see where the research eventually leads.

Anxiety Insights link

Anxiety and Insomnia – Thanks, Mom

US News and World Report has posted an abstract that details the findings of researchers in the U.S. that there might be a genetic link between anxiety, depression and insomnia.

As a result, researchers advise that adolescents who suffer from anxiety and depression should also be screened for insomnia. That seems like an excellent idea.

I’ve often wondered if my occasional (but more frequent as I get older) insomnia and my anxiety are somehow connected, and if so, if my lack of sleep problems in my youth were in any way a signal of impending emotional struggles that didn’t start until later in life.

From the article:

The researchers’ analysis of data from 749 monozygotic twin pairs and 687 dizygotic twin pairs, aged 8 to 17, and their parents revealed that 19.5 percent of the children had insomnia.

The results indicate that, as has been seen in previous studies of insomnia in adults, diagnosable insomnia in children aged 8 to 16 years is moderately likely to be inherited, according to a news release about the study. The shared genetic effects between insomnia, depression and anxiety suggest that these disorders are linked.

Since genetics plays such a key role in so many disorders, it’s not surprising that insomnia might fall into that category, and 19.5% doesn’t seem to be outside of expectations. It’s also not shocking that there’s a link between insomnia and anxiety, but I wonder if this might not qualify as a “which came first – the chicken or the egg?” scenario. Are the teens more prone to anxiety and depression because they are so worn down due to insomnia, or is one of the symptoms of anxiety the inability to exhibit normal sleep patterngens? Or both?

Not much detail in the online article, but it’s an interesting topic nonetheless.

Insomnia and Anxiety May Be Genetically Linked, via US News and World Report

Nature-nurture debate continues

It’s long been held that for folks suffering from emotional and behavioral conditions such as panic, anxiety, OCD, and so on, the genesis of their disorder could be traced to heredity, or via shaping by their environment, or both. Certain people were deemed to be more genetically vulnerable than others.

Anxiety Insights reports that new studies in the area of gene-by-environment interaction (GXE) surrounding the so-called “genetic vulnerability to adversity” is causing scientists to take another look.

The new thinking is that those with the “vulnerability” gene are not only more likely to be adversely impacted by negative experiences, but also more prone to benefit from positive environments, and they are noted as being more “malleable or plastic”, not just vulnerable.

Long story short – it’s not just vulnerability, it’s that these kinds of folks are more affected by all environmental conditions, both negative and positive.

“Our analysis of many published findings suggests that one potential solution to the nature-nurture controversy is to appreciate the role played by environmental experience and the role played by heredity in shaping who we are may actually differ across people,” said Prof Belsky.

Is it just me, or does it seem like this concept isn’t really breaking any new ground?

If there is a breakthrough here, it would be using this information to expand genetic research and gnome mapping to be able to someday identify the specific hereditary factors at work, which would allow a more tailored therapy approach based on the unique DNA of each individual.

From the article: “This could mirror the trend we are now seeing towards personalized medicine, where an understanding of the genetic make-up of an individual determines the type of drugs used to treat the patient based on their DNA,” said Prof Belsky.

Reframing the Nature-Nurture Debate , via Anxiety Insights