Scientists Get Closer to Depression's DNA

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"Based on extensive data that shows that the most familial form of depression is that which begins before the age of 30, and which involves recurrent episodes, we went after a sample of people where at least one family member had this kind of a depression, and they had a sibling who had a similar depression," Weissman explained.

Participants were recruited from all over the country, and were primarily of European ancestry.

The first study involved a scan of the entire genome to look for "linkages" between depression and DNA markers. This effort identified several chromosome regions that looked promising for more research.

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The second study involved a more in-depth analysis of the most "suspicious" of these regions (on chromosome 15). All told, 94 DNA markers were studied (in both papers) and revealed significant evidence for linkage to depression.

"This is a very significant finding. This is a more refined map of earlier findings from this group," said Dr. Ma-Li Wong, a professor of psychiatry and vice chairwoman for translational research at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "Susceptibility to depression seems to be related to this chromosome, and we don't know which genes will be implicated, but hopefully through the continuation of this line of work, we will find out."

The next phase of the research will delve even more deeply into the genetics of 2,000 individuals, the researchers said.

More information

The research team is still recruiting for additional studies. Visit Stanford University for more information.

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