The Cause Of Depression Was The Virus - Alternative View

The Cause Of Depression Was The Virus - Alternative View
The Cause Of Depression Was The Virus - Alternative View

Video: The Cause Of Depression Was The Virus - Alternative View

Video: The Cause Of Depression Was The Virus - Alternative View
Video: Is depression an infectious disease? | Turhan Canli | TEDxSBU 2024, March
Anonim

A group of Japanese researchers found that depression is caused by the herpes simplex virus type six. It is in the body of every person in a dormant state, but reacts to high stress and leads to the development of illness. Scientists believe that understanding how it works will make diagnosing depression in the early stages more effective and help find a cure.

A team from Jikei Medical University in Japan presented the results of a new study. They studied the sixth type of human herpesvirus (there are eight in total), a neutrophic virus common throughout the world (100% of people are carriers). Usually it hides in the blood and maintains a state of latent infection in the carrier (like other types of herpes viruses), that is, it has almost no effect on the human condition. The results are published in the journal iScience.

Its concentration becomes higher with stress or extreme fatigue, and it can already be found in saliva. Then it enters the olfactory bulb through the nose and infects it. The SITH-1 gene contained in the virus begins to produce the SITH-1 protein, which, in turn, directs calcium into the cells of the bulb and kills them. The main task of the olfactory bulb is to be responsible for the perception of smells, but it also affects what emotions a person experiences by associating certain aromas with them. Therefore, if its functions are disrupted, stress becomes stronger - and the brain reacts to it, causing depression.

Protein manifests itself in the brain, so it is difficult to determine its concentration. Professor Kazuhiro Kondo, one of the authors of the article, said that the human body itself helped the researchers. It turned out that the SITH-1 compound cannot direct calcium into the cell on its own: for this, it needs to enter into a compound with another protein, CALM. The body reacts to excessive doses of calcium and produces antibodies that can be found in the blood. Scientists call them a marker that the SITH-1 / CALM compound has appeared in the body.

“If we find specific antibodies to the form of this compound in the blood, we can conclude that the SITH-1 protein is already in the olfactory bulb, has combined with the CAML protein and sends calcium into the cells. That is, we will be able to find out about this indirectly, - said Kondo in a comment for RIA Novosti.

During the experiments, the group found that 80% of depression sufferers are affected by the SITH-1 protein. That is, if a person's blood test shows a high concentration of protein, we can say that he has a high risk of getting sick (it increases 12 times). In addition, a depressed patient will have 20 times the concentration of antibodies than healthy people. It is also found in those who are constantly in a bad mood or depressed by something, and this observation will help diagnose the disease in the early stages.

The hypothesis that depression may be caused by a virus has been expressed before, but they have not been able to prove it. The authors of the new work believe that they have finally managed to establish the cause of its occurrence. Further research will help identify the mechanism of development of the disease and find a cure.