CSB #6 - Depression and Telomeres
Summary
Depression is a mental state of feeling sad, but it can also cause faster aging through the shrinking size of telomeres, or the part of a chromosome that wraps it up and keeps it from unraveling. As a person ages, their DNA starts falling apart, causing problems. Researchers have looked at immunes cells and the lengths of the telomeres in the DNA of mentally depressed individuals. While patients who have major depressive disorder, or MDD, have similar telomere lengths as normal healthy patients, others who have been depressed for more than eight years have a noticeable shortening of their telomeres. In those patients with the long term chronic depression, the cells have rapidly aged around seven years faster than usual. As a result of this, the patient with the shortened telomeres is also more susceptible to other diseases and stress causing molecules. These also contribute to the shortening life of cells.
However, on a more positive note, there is an enzyme, telomerase, that proves to help anti-depression. Its main function is to fix the telomeres, which lengthens the life of cells, and slows down aging. It can also help combat depression, shown in some studies. When patients on anti-depressants have a low telomerase activity, they showless progress than those who show a high telomerase activity. As the enzyme activity increases, the speed of the response strengthens. This could prove helpful in the future, especially since the enzyme is one native to the human body and is already in place to stimulate. More studies are needed to show how depression affects the telomere shortening, but hopefully with more research, a more effective anti-depressant could be found.
Citations
University of California - San Francisco. "Link between chronic depression and accelerated immune cell aging." ScienceDaily 6 Apr. 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2011
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