عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Brain Protein Responsible for Link Between Stress, Depression, New Study Finds

A section of a preserved human brain at the Museum of Neuroanatomy at the University at Buffalo, N.Y. (AP photo/David Duprey)
A section of a preserved human brain at the Museum of Neuroanatomy at the University at Buffalo, N.Y. (AP photo/David Duprey)
TT
TT

Brain Protein Responsible for Link Between Stress, Depression, New Study Finds

A section of a preserved human brain at the Museum of Neuroanatomy at the University at Buffalo, N.Y. (AP photo/David Duprey)
A section of a preserved human brain at the Museum of Neuroanatomy at the University at Buffalo, N.Y. (AP photo/David Duprey)

After experiencing trauma or severe stress, some people develop an abnormal stress response or chronic stress. This increases the risk of developing other diseases such as depression and anxiety, but it remains unknown what mechanisms are behind it or how the stress response is regulated.

The research group at Karolinska Institutet, in Sweden, has previously found that a protein in the brain plays an important role in the function of serotonin that regulates mood and releases stress hormones, at least in mice, the German News Agency reported.

The research group found that the protein named p11 plays an important role in the function of serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates mood. Depressed patients and suicide victims have lower levels of the p11 protein in their brain, and laboratory mice with reduced p11 levels show depression- and anxiety-like behavior.

The new study shows that p11 affects the initial release of the stress hormone cortisol in mice by modulating the activity of specific neurons in the brain area hypothalamus.

In addition, the tests showed that mice with p11 deficiency react more strongly to stress, with a higher heart rate and more signs of anxiety, compared to mice with normal p11 levels.

The findings of the new study, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, may have implications on the development of new drugs for depression and anxiety.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Air Pollution from Fires Linked to 1.5 Million Deaths a Year

The study was released a week after Ecuador declared a national emergency due to forest fires. Galo Paguay / AFP/File
The study was released a week after Ecuador declared a national emergency due to forest fires. Galo Paguay / AFP/File
TT
TT

Air Pollution from Fires Linked to 1.5 Million Deaths a Year

The study was released a week after Ecuador declared a national emergency due to forest fires. Galo Paguay / AFP/File
The study was released a week after Ecuador declared a national emergency due to forest fires. Galo Paguay / AFP/File

Air pollution caused by fires is linked to more than 1.5 million deaths a year worldwide, the vast majority occurring in developing countries, a major new study said on Thursday.
This death toll is expected to rise in the coming years as climate change makes wildfires more frequent and intense, according to the study in The Lancet journal.
The international team of researchers looked at existing data on "landscape fires", which include both wildfires that rage through nature and planned fires such as controlled burns on farming land.
Around 450,000 deaths a year from heart disease were linked to fire-related air pollution between 2000 and 2019, the researchers said.
A further 220,000 deaths from respiratory disease were attributed to the smoke and particulates spewed into the air by fire, AFP said.
From all causes around the world, a total of 1.53 million annual deaths were associated with air pollution from landscape fires, according to the study.
More than 90 percent of these deaths were in low and middle-income countries, it added, with nearly 40 percent in sub-Saharan Africa alone.
The countries with the highest death tolls were China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, and Nigeria.
A record amount of illegal burning of farm fields in northern India has been partly blamed for noxious smog that has recently been choking the capital New Delhi.
The authors of the Lancet study called for "urgent action" to address the huge death toll from landscape fires.
The disparity between rich and poor nations further highlights "climate injustice", in which those who have contributed the least to global warming suffer from it the most, they added.
Some of the ways people can avoid smoke from fires -- such as moving away from the area, using air purifiers and masks, or staying indoors -- are not available to people in poorer countries, the researchers pointed out.
So they called for more financial and technological support for people in the hardest-hit countries.
The study was released a week after UN climate talks where delegates agreed to a boost in climate funding that developing countries slammed as insufficient.
It also came after Ecuador declared a national emergency over forest fires that have razed more than 10,000 hectares in the country's south.
The world has also been battered by hurricanes, droughts, floods and other extreme weather events during what is expected to be the hottest year in recorded history.