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An international study involving more than 4,7 million people from 29 countries has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the role of genetic variants in the development of depression and added nearly 300 new biomarkers to improve the diagnosis and treatment of this mental disorder.
Modern medicine still faces difficulties in effectively treating depression, the prevalence of which is increasing among children and adults. As the researchers note, the causes of depression are complex, among which genetics plays an important role. Since 2017, scientists have analyzed the genetic data of 680 thousand patients with depression and compared them with information from 4 million healthy people. This allowed to double the number of known genetic variants associated with the disease to 697, which significantly expanded the understanding of the genetic basis of depression.
The researchers say that each individual genetic variant has a small impact on the risk of developing depression, but their combined effect can significantly increase the likelihood of the disease. The data collected now serves as a basis for more precise testing, opening up opportunities to adapt existing medications to individual patient characteristics or develop new drugs aimed at previously unknown genetic targets.
In addition to genetic research, artificial intelligence technologies are being developed to rapidly diagnose depression. A recently created AI can identify the disease by analyzing voice and brain activity in just five minutes with 97% accuracy. This demonstrates the promise of combining genetic approaches with modern technologies to combat the global problem of depression.
