Facts About Mental Health:
Your
Genes and You
Did you know that the branch
of medicine that attempts to
relate some types of mental
illness to our genes is
called genetic psychiatry?
Genes are tiny bits of chemicals inside the cells
of all life forms, including
humans.
These tiny bits help
determine how we grow, what
we look like, and certain
behavioral traits – all
the way from musical talent
to the ability to taste
mushrooms.
This is why genes are
also sometimes called
“biochemical
instructions.”
More than 99% of human genes
are exactly alike.
An amazing fact is
that less than 1% of our
genetic make-up accounts for
all the differences among us
– skin, hair, and eye
color, height, weight (to
some extent), and the shape
of our bodies, just to name
a few.
So the similarities
among us are much greater
than our differences.
But just think about
all the trouble and
misunderstanding that 1% has
caused!
You may have heard that scientists have finally
figured out the plan of all
our genes – all 31,000. All of these genes together, in one human, are called the
human genome.
Billions of dollars
in the last few years have
been spent in unraveling the
human genome, and most
scientists agree that the
goal has finally been
reached.
Some geneticists – scientists who study genes –
believe that many human
diseases result from things
going wrong with our genes;
but this is a very difficult
research area, because there
are so many things that can
go wrong:
and even if a gene is
“defective” in some
sense, that does not
guarantee that illness will
result.
In many cases other
events must combine to
“trigger” a gene that is
not working well, to cause
disease or behaviors that we
would rather not show.
Such events are not
always known, but they may
include stress, toxins in
our environment, poor diet,
and certain unhealthy life
styles.
In some cases there is a clear link between a gene
(or combination of genes)
and a particular illness. In Parkinson’s disease, for example, if things go wrong
with a gene called DJ-1, the
illness will probably
develop. Cystic fibrosis and some forms of cancer are also thought to
be the result of genes whose
instruction sets are not
working right.
Scientists are now
studying how these
malfunctioning instruction
sets can be corrected, or
even replaced, through gene
therapy.
But in many more
cases, the link between
genes and diseases is
strongly suspected but not
proven.
Bipolar disorder and
schizophrenia are in this
category.
The search for a gene or combination of genes that
causes schizophrenia has so
far not been very
productive. Many times scientists have announced a “link” between a
gene and schizophrenia, but
these discoveries, so
exciting at first, have
turned out to be single
pieces of a puzzle; there
are just too many factors in
this complex disease.
It is hoped that genetic psychiatry will lead to
real cures for many kinds of
mental illness.
What must be avoided
is “genetic fatalism”
– which causes some people
to believe that, because
they have inherited certain
genes from their parents,
there is nothing they can do
to avoid illness.
This is simply not
true in most cases.
Especially in mental
illness, with a positive
attitude and cooperation
with medical treatment,
mental illness can be
conquered.
This is what the recovery
process is all about:
Every good thing that
happens, every little bit of
progress, puts you on the
road to recovery.
Genetic psychiatry
will uncover more links
between mental illness and
our genes, but it will
probably never have all the
answers.
The rest is up to you
and your doctor.
For
more information about genes
and genetic therapy, go to
the following website:
MSN
Learning & Research –
Genetics
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761563786
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