Depression and cardiovascular disease (CVD) partly develop from the same gene module, said a team of researchers establishing the long-presumed link between the two conditions.
Since
the 1990s, it has been speculated that the two diseases are somehow related.
About 280 million people worldwide have depression, while 620 million people
have CVD.
Researchers
from the University of Finland used blood gene analysis to unravel the clinical
link between the two.
Their
result, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry showed that depression
and CVD have at least one functional 'gene module' in common. The study may
help identify new markers for depression and CVD, as well as find drugs to
target both diseases.
Gene
module can be defined as a group of genes with similar expression patterns
across different conditions and hence likely to be functionally related.
"We
looked at gene expression profile in the blood of people with depression and
CVD and found 256 genes in a single gene module whose expression at levels
higher or lower than average puts people at greater risk of both
diseases," said first author Binisha H Mishra, a postdoctoral researcher
at Tampere University in Finland.
The
team studied gene expression data in the blood of 899 women and men between 34
and 49 years old.
Other
genes in the shared module are involved in brain diseases such as Alzheimer's,
Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease.
"We
can use the genes in this module as biomarkers for depression and
cardiovascular disease. Ultimately, these biomarkers may facilitate the
development of dual-purpose preventative strategies for both diseases,"
said Mishra.
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