Researchers make depression breakthrough
Published: February 25, 2006
In a medical breakthrough, NSW researchers have discovered the gene responsible for depression.
A study, to be published in the British Journal of Psychiatry this week, shows that people who carry a short serotonin transporter gene are predisposed to depression, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
Those who carry a long version of the gene are less susceptible to the illness.
The gene has been implicated in depression before, but this study is the first and most conclusive evidence of its true role in the disease.
The breakthrough comes after 25 years of research by scientists and will have a huge impact on both the diagnosis and treatment of depression.
Depression affects one in four Australians, the paper said.
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