Why is there no “cause and effect” model of mental disorders and problems? it’s a problem that has intrigued us for more than fifty years; and has more than once been lamented on these pages. Despite the heroic endeavours of thousands of hard working researchers and scholars, we seem little nearer tangible, reproducible solutions.
Until this week when we came across an article by Anthea Rowan of the New Scientist which honestly made our hair stand up.[1] Initially the article is about OCD.(obsessive-compulsive disorder) But in it, for the first time, we have come across what may be real hints of what is going on at a neurological and molecular level in the unfortunate victims of many mental abnormalities. And from that emerges the first possibility of real and lasting cures for their suffering.
We won’t steal Andrea’s thunder (you’ll need a paywall jump if you use the link), But we will try to summarise some of her salient points, and urge you to read further.
It’s the genes Get this quote from her:
“…half of the risk of developing OCD is down to our genes..[a study]…examined genomes of nearly 40000 people with OCD and identified 15 genetic signatures associated with the conditio including ones for proteins that influence brain function and development ….one of the signatures…. was associated with genes for the major histocompatibility complex(MHC)[2] ….a region of DNA that plays an important role in the immune system and has also been linked to other mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder “(our bold)
It’s in the immune system
“…….a case in point is two related conditions called PANS and PANDAs in which children can suddenly develop OCD symptoms anxiety or tics seemingly in response to an infection….”
It’s in the gut
“… a team at Shanghai Jiao Tong University….transplanted faecal gut microbiota from humans with OCD into mice. Two weeks later the mice began to exhibit repetitive behaviours and signs of anxiety..….
Why are we so excited? Because here at last are three tangible, well defined pathways for research. Each contains definable, repeatable units like molecules, tissues and nerve ganglia. No more hard to prove social theories or endlessly debated diagnoses. Instead a chance to start again from the bottom up. And maybe find a pattern of molecular-level abnormalities which can be identified, defined and remedied in a controlled and repeatable manner. The research will be long. Cures are still very far away. But the right paths have now been identified. And that is some cause for hope.
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_histocompatibility_comple
#mental illness #OCD #personality disorder #MHC #infection #immunology #infection #health #medicine
Learning, Science and Society 
It’s fascinating what we are learning – the connection between mental health and the state of our microbiome is curious.
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thanks for this i would love to think we could deal with mental problems as easily as physical illness-one day! It is heart breaking to see the damage which a mentl illness can wreak both to a sufferer and their immediate family
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