Major Depressive Disorder Analysis

When people think of treatment for depression, most of the time they probably think psychotherapy, talking about the problems, coming up with strategies for better coping and a hope to gain closure or go into remission. Sometimes, due to hormonal imbalances and stress-related brain damage, these therapy talks need to be supplemented with other therapies, through drugs, vitamin supplements, a simple change in diet, or eventually, maybe even gene therapy. These supplementary treatments are needed as patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) tend to have low level of feel good neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. These hormonal deficiencies may cause a reduced reproduction of neural cells, as neurotransmitters
If the patient is experiencing extreme MDD symptoms unresolved by the other traditional therapies, he or she might be administered ElectroCompulsive Therapy (ECT). The ECT patient is sedated and a 20 second electrical pulse is sent through their brain, causing a seizure. After apparently successful ECT treatment, patients usually relapse within several months; several more sessions are usually needed, around 6-12 during a several week period. Today, scientists are not sure why this procedure sometimes relieves depression, but they are concerned of several side effects, such as short term memory loss, a rise in heart rate and blood
A diet of foods with high concentrations of natural folate and tryptophan has already been recommended to treat depression, along with the use of folic acid/B9 vitamins and the recent advent of using L-methylfolate supplements.
Yet another treatment may provided the missing step to remission for the others: CRISPR/Cas9 gene therapy of the p11 gene. Research on mice with a “knocked out” p11 gene exhibits symptoms of depression, and overexpression of the gene, which can be brought on through ECT, seems to have antidepressant effects. If one were to test the productiveness of the p11 gene in MDD patients, and find it lacking, a possible gene therapy could target the gene using a Cas9 protein (a process explained in the History section) to deliver a healthy p11 gene and restore proper production rates of p11 expression.
As of today, MDD patients can be treated with a number of effective therapies with the hopes of temporary, or possibly permanent, remission. All of these therapies may include side effects or even the contingency of recurring symptoms, however the most promising may be Cas9 gene