Cells age prematurely in those with depression, study suggests
Depression accelerates aging at the cellular level and can lead to premature death, according to new research.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) has long been known to be a risk factor for a variety of age-related disorders, including cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and osteoporosis. It is also associated with early mortality.Therefore, the researchers hypothesized that: depression A study published in the journal on April 6 may stimulate biological processes in the body that accelerate aging. Translation psychiatry..
“One of the notable things about depression is the unexpectedly high age-related physical illness and premature mortality of patients, even after considering suicide and lifestyle,” co-chief author said. Said Professor Owen Walkowitz. Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) said in a statement. “It has always been a mystery, and it has led us to look for signs of aging at the cellular level.”
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To understand this, a group of researchers turned to the so-called epigenetic clock, which measures specific chemical changes in a person. DNA Estimate their biological or cell age.As a person grows older, certain atoms in DNA begin to be replaced by one methyl group. carbon Atoms bonded to three hydrogen Atomic), in a natural process known as methylation. These chemical changes alter the gene function in the cell.
By tracking these chemical changes, scientists can also better understand whether conditions such as depression may be associated with accelerated cell aging.
In a new study, researchers used blood samples from 49 untreated major depressive disorders to look for specific methylation patterns that were previously associated with mortality. This is known as the “Grim Age”. Healthy controls of 60 people of the same age. They managed gender, current smoking status, and body mass index. People with major depression had no physical signs of accelerated aging, but had greater grimage compared to chronological order. In other words, they accelerated cell aging by an average of 2 years compared to healthy controls.
“This is a way to understand depression, from pure mental illness or mental illness. brain“This should radically change the way we approach and think about depression as part of our overall health,” said Katerina Prozenko, a medical student at the University of California, San Francisco, in a statement. “.
However, according to the statement, it is not yet clear whether depression causes changes in methylation in some people, and whether both depression and methylation are associated with other underlying factors in the body. .. For example, some people may be prone to certain methylation patterns when exposed to stressors. In addition, the sample size is “moderate,” and the authors write that these findings need to be reproduced in larger, more diverse samples.
Researchers now want to determine if treatment or treatment can prevent methylation changes that accelerate cell aging.
Originally published in Live Science.
Cells age prematurely in those with depression, study suggests Source link Cells age prematurely in those with depression, study suggests
