Gene Therapy Might Ease Depression

This article talks about how scientists discovered that a deficiency of the pll protein in the brain contributes depression, this could be used to treat cases of depression with gene therapy. Michael Kaplitt of Weill Cornell Medical College lead a group, which found that levels of pll were lower in people who have been diagnosed with depression, than that of the control group. This team then lowered the levels of ill in mice and observed that they demonstrated behavior much like that of depressed humans. It was found that the ill protein must be present in the nucleus accumbens. Then, the scientists gave the mice a virus with pll, and they stopped exhibiting these depressed behavior. It was concluded that low levels of pll could be a cause for some cases of depression, which means that restoring these levels could reverse the depression. Gene therapy has already been used for Parkinsons disease, and Kaplitt hopes it will be possible to use in about 2 years.

This experiment is an example of hypothesis based science because Kaplitt's team made an observation on the pll levels, carried out an experiment, and after testing their idea on mice had enough evidence to support their initial hypothesis. This research is incredibly important for humans because it can reverse the effects of depression, and possibly lead to the discovery of gene therapy for other diseases.

Author: Laura Sanders

Title: Gene therapy might ease depression

Journal: Science News

Date published: November 20, 2010

page: 14