Mapmygenome with the Next Generation of Geneticists

Mapmygenome interacted with students of the Department of Genetics, St. Ann’s College for Women, Hyderabad. Dr. Shibichakravarthy Kannan from our team talked to the students on "Frontiers in Medical Genetics & Clinical Genomics". 

 

 

 

Super Brain Foods

Super Brain Foods:

• Low GI foods - Whole grains with low glycemic index release glucose slowly into the bloodstream, keeping you mentally alert the whole day.
• Omega 3 fatty acids - DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) helps in improving brain development in infants and enhancing learning ability. It also prevents memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease . EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) can fight schizophrenia and depression. Fish oils are a rich source of these acids.
• Lycopene - Majorly found in tomatoes, Lycopene could help protect against the free radical damage to cells which occurs in development of dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s.
• Vitamin C - Vitamin C is essential for the production of many neurotransmitters and for mental agility.
• Iron - If the body is low in iron, fatigue, irritability and headaches may occur.
• Vitamin E - This vitamin is a well known antioxidant. Vitamin E rich foods include tofu, spinach, nuts, fish, and olives. Good intake of Vitamin E is purported to prevent cognitive decline, particularly in the elderly.

Posted in feature By 

Jasmine Khurana

Nature and Nurture in Mental Health

Miss Keerti (name changed) recently displayed the following symptoms:

• Urge to steal
• Emotional outbursts; disregard for right/wrong
• Uncontrollable ''episodes'' of happiness and sorrow
• Possessiveness/extreme attachment for near and dear ones

When her family took her to a psychiatrist, she was diagnosed with Emotional Instability Disorder.

Her parents' thoughts:

Would the situation be different had her upbringing been different? What went wrong?

Her older sister did not have any behavioural problems, even though both of them were brought

up in the same environment.

Family history?

Keerti’s maternal and paternal uncles had displayed similar tendencies. This indicated that she might have a genetic load for behavioural problems.

Does nature or nurture affect our personality? Is there a way out?

When the famous psychologist Donald Hebb was asked this question, he responded with "which contributes more to the area of a rectangle, its length or breadth?"

''Nurture'' (i.e., environment) can actually modify the gene expression and thereby physiology and the behaviour of a person. In cases with family history, mutation screening is very useful to evaluate genetic predisposition or ''risk'' for such disorders. This would help the parents modify the upbringing of the children so as to delay onset/mitigate risk. However, more studies are warranted to confirm this. For eg., addiction to alcohol and ADHD have been tied to variation in a few genes.

Studies suggest that risk to first degree individuals of ADHD have a risk of 1560% (2 to 6 hold higher

than the risk to unrelated individual) whereas in bipolar disorder, risk to 1st degree relative ( parent,

sibling, offsprings ) is 520%.

This emphasizes the role of a strong genetic component in behavioural disorders. But environment will also play a role in the same. Genetic testing is essential for medical professionals and behavioural experts to counsel affected families and help lower the burden of such disorders.

Posted in feature By 

Sushma Patil, Rasika Raman

Depression

Life is a potpourri of emotions: joy, sadness, anger, jealousy, excitement, and every other possible feeling. It is acceptable to be happy at all times, but an idyllic life is not easily attainable. Everyone has moments in their lives when they can be merely upset, or uncontrollably miserable. As long as these feelings of unhappiness are subdued, and expressed only in a few instances, it is not considered abnormal. But, what happens when this sadness becomes persistent? What happens when a person is constantly overcome with dejection, and starts feeling insignificant?

Depression is defined as a mood disorder that causes prolonged feelings of despondency. People suffering from depression are always gloomy, with an air of desolation about them. They often lose the will to live life to the fullest, instead choosing to be holed up in one place and mull over their ill fate. Depressed people are easily irritable, and tend to get frustrated over small matters. They may suffer from insomnia and other such sleep disorders, and even experience weakness and fatigue. Their movements are laboured, their mental functioning may not be normal, and they may also have unexplained physical problems, such as headaches and back pain. They lose interest in life, and are often overcome with feelings of worthlessness.

There are roughly six types of depression, all of which have varying symptoms:

• Major depressive disorder, where patients function abnormally and are unable to sleep, eat, or do any other routine activities.
• Dysthymic disorder, where people experience depression for prolonged periods of time, such as years together.
• Psychotic depression involves hallucinations, delusions, and withdrawal from reality.
• Postpartum depression is experienced by mothers for a short period after they have given birth.
• Seasonal affective disorder is when patients are depressed only in the months of winter, and perfectly normal at other times.
• Bipolar disorder or manic depression is when a person has both moments of extreme highs and lows in a short interval of time.
• Researchers attribute depression to a combination of biological, environmental, genetic, and psychological factors. Biological differences, where people have physical changes in their brains, are found to be a major cause of depression. When either neurotransmitters in the brain or hormones in the body are in a state of imbalance, it might trigger depression. At times, depression may run in families, with people becoming victims because of their predecessors. Research has shown that our genes may determine our susceptibility to depression, and that our vulnerability is largely influenced by genetic factors. Another common cause of depression is experiencing a traumatic event, such as the loss of a loved one, stress, or childhood events.
• There are some factors that may increase the risk of developing depression, such as abuse of alcohol, low self-esteem, chronic illnesses, medications, and all the aforementioned causes.
• Early detection and treatment of depression is practical, and it is necessary for patients to approach a doctor in case they experience any symptoms. Physical problems, such as headache, fatigue, and sleep disorder, or mental problems, such as suicidal tendency or overwhelming feeling of sadness are all signs that can be detected before any complications arise.
• Depression can be treated by various methods, such as medication and psychotherapy. Antidepressants are commonly used, and patients can be admitted in hospitals and other residential treatment programs. Psychotherapy includes 
• To avoid depression, there are a few simple lifestyle changes that can be made. People can be happier and healthier, and do more exciting activities. They can spend time with their families, and share their problems with others, so they won’t have to suffer in solitude. All in all, everyone should lead a happy, stress-free life.
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• Posted in feature By 
  

  Easha Sagar

Tobacco and You

The effects of smoking on human physiology and function are many.
 Respiratory disease (especially lung cancer) is one of them. Tobacco, the chief constituent in cigarette smoke, contains nicotine and other harmful carcinogens (''cancer-causing'' chemicals) such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
When exposure to said chemicals happens at increased threshold, a direct impact on an individual's health is bound to occur, right from the molecular level (DNA).

Epigenetic mechanisms are the link between smoking and its effect on biological processes. Genome-wide studies across former, current and never smokers highlighted differential gene expression patterns in important cancer-associated genes such as AHR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor, also a tumor suppressor) and p53.
Most of these changes are reversed after smoking cessation, but certain patterns do not revert. Some of these effects arise in passive smokers (those exposed to environmental tobacco smoke), as well.

Up to 10-fold increase in levels of serum alkaline phosphatase enzymes has been found in smokers and cancer patients. These molecules are key mediators in cellular pathways such as dephosphorylation.\

In the womb:

Prenatal exposure to tobacco (maternal smoking) influences overall development of the fetus before and after birth, and continues up to the child's growth and adulthood.

Preterm delivery, pre-eclampsia and other complications have also been linked with maternal smoking (varied amounts of regulatory enzymes in circulation).

References:

Beane J, Sebastiani P, Liu G, Brody JS, Lenburg ME, et al. (2007) Reversible and permanent effects of tobacco smoke exposure on airway epithelial gene expression. Genome Biology 8: R201.

Suter M, Ma J, Harris AS, Patterson L, Brown KA, Shope C, Showalter L, Abramovici A, Aagaard-Tillery KM. 2011. Maternal tobacco use modestly alters correlated epigenome-wide placental DNA methylation and gene expression. Epigenetics 6:1284–1294.

Zeilinger S, Kuhnel B, Klopp N, Baurecht H, Kleinschmidt A, et al. (2013) Tobacco smoking leads to extensive genome-wide changes in DNA methylation. PLoS One 8: e63812.

Launching the Lung Cancer and Nicotine Dependence Genetic Test!

This World No Tobacco Day, we launch a new test to assess genetic risk for lung cancer and nicotine dependence. The Lung Cancer and Nicotine Dependence Test is available from May 31, 2014.

We all know about the strong link between lung cancer and exposure to tobacco smoke.  This disease affects not only tobacco smokers, but also many passive smokers. Now, it easy to understand the inherited and acquired genetic risk to lung cancer.

We understand that it is not easy to stop smoking. Our test helps you understand what role your genes play in developing the smoking habit, by understanding your predisposition to nicotine dependence. While genetic predisposition cannot be changed, other factors are far more easy to control. Therefore, we say that our test offers the best motivation for smoking cessation.  So, go ahead and take this test before you plan to quit smoking.

Take the Lung Cancer & Nicotine Dependence Test today! Call 1800-102-4594, write to info@mapmygenome.in, or visit www.mapmygenone.in!