2023-05-28 12:59:00
treatment of anxiety disorders
Robert Klatt
Better treatment for anxiety disorders
)kcotS ebodA66NtroBnegnurötstsgnA nov gnuldnaheB eresseB(Photo: ©
The treatment of anxiety disorders has so far been unproblematic. Now a gene has been discovered that regulates anxiety in the brain. This opens up new approaches for the development of drugs to treat anxiety disorders.
Bristol (England). According to data from Health Knowledge Foundation Anxiety disorders are widespread in Germany. About nine percent of men and 21 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 79 will experience an anxiety disorder within a year. In addition, 15 percent of women and five percent of men suffer from a specific anxiety disorder (phobia), i.e. an anxiety disorder that is characterized by a specific trigger.
Severe emotional stress can induce genetic, biochemical, and conformational changes in neurons in the amygdala, a brain region responsible for stress-related anxiety. These processes can contribute to the development of various anxiety disorders, including panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Treating anxiety disorders is problematic
However, the effectiveness of anti-anxiety medications currently on the market is limited, with over half of the patients treated not experiencing full improvement. Limited success in developing effective antianxiety drugs results from our poor understanding of the neural networks that control anxiety and the molecular processes that lead to stress-related neuropsychiatric conditions.
Gene for the development of anxiety symptoms
scientists of University of Bristol therefore conducted a study that examined the molecular processes in the brain underlying anxiety. They focused on a group of molecules, so-called miRNAs, which were studied in animal models. This group of molecules, which is also present in the human brain, regulates various target proteins that control cellular processes in the amygdala.
Following an intense stressful situation, the researchers were able to, according to their publication in the specialist journal Nature Communications found an increase in a particular molecule known as miR483-5p in the amygdala of mice. Notably, an increased presence of miR483-5p leads to a reduction in the activity of another gene, Pgap2. This gene, in turn, induces changes in the brain’s neural structure as well as behavioral changes associated with anxiety. The scientists were able to demonstrate that miR-483-5p acts as a molecular regulator that balances out stress-induced changes in the amygdala, thereby helping to alleviate anxiety.
The discovery of a new signaling pathway in the amygdala, consisting of miR483-5p and Pgap2, through which the brain responds to stress, is an important first step towards the development of new, effective and much-needed therapies for the treatment of anxiety disorders that amplify this signaling pathway.
Better treatment for anxiety
like dr As Valentina Mosienko explains, stress can trigger the onset of several neuropsychiatric conditions resulting from a deleterious combination of genetic and environmental factors. The brain can cope with minor stresses through its natural ability to adapt, but intense or prolonged traumatic events can breach the protective mechanisms of stress management, leading to pathological conditions such as depression or anxiety.
According to her, miRNAs are ideally positioned to control complex neuropsychiatric disorders such as anxiety. However, until now, the molecular and cellular mechanisms they employ to control stress management and vulnerability have been largely unknown. The miR483-5p/Pgap2 pathway discovered in this study, whose activation has anxiolytic effects, offers an excellent opportunity for the development of anti-anxiety therapies for complex psychiatric conditions in humans.
Nature Communications, doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37688-2
1685287347
#Anxiety #suppression #gene #discovered