Molecules and Psychiatry
2015; American Psychiatric Association; Volume: 172; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15091219
ISSN1535-7228
Autores Tópico(s)Health, psychology, and well-being
ResumoBack to table of contents Next article EditorialsFull AccessMolecules and PsychiatryRobert Freedman, M.D.Robert Freedman, M.D.Published Online:1 Nov 2015https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15091219AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail While the importance of molecules for psychiatry today may not be immediately obvious, the articles on molecular mechanisms in this issue represent groundbreaking research (1–5). They concern themselves with specific molecular mechanisms of psychopathology in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. Several investigate mechanisms of gene expression in the brain, how genes express their information from the DNA of the chromosome to the mRNA transcriptome that makes the proteins, and other regulatory molecules like microRNAs that control how neurons function. These investigations rely on postmortem brain specimens. The investment in these resources and the methodological training to use them, which take years to develop, is considerable. The positron emission tomography study (5) is an equally sophisticated investigation, as is the epidemiological study of smoking and schizophrenia (6).What general messages might readers take away? First, despite heroic efforts, the long-sought gene that causes mental disorders has yet to emerge. The chromosomes themselves have not yet yielded the keys as they have for many other illnesses. However, the molecular mechanisms of mental illness are being identified through the type of research reported in this issue—detailed examinations of how specific genes work in the brain itself and act to support its function. One could speculate on which strategy is more daunting—to understand how mental disorders are inherited or to understand how nerve cells misfunction in mental illness—but each approach is making considerable progress.Second, the convergence between research and practice is already here, as is well illustrated in the Review and Overview by Kiecolt-Glaser et al. on depression and inflammation (7). The authors discuss their work on the molecular basis of the co-occurrence of depression and inflammation and then give clinical readers specific strategies to recognize the co-occurrence, validate it through biomarkers, and address it therapeutically. Their description of the interaction with the two frequent co-travelers of mental disorders—lack of exercise and metabolic problems—also comes from their basic research.Third, patients and their families and our other medical colleagues and students often wonder if psychiatry is a backwater of medicine. The articles in this issue remind us all that our field is as forward thinking in its approach to illness as any other. As one family member once told me, "I don't expect you to solve mental illness in my lifetime. I take comfort in knowing that capable people are now working on my family's illness just like other families can point to research for their illnesses."Dr. Freedman is Editor of the Journal. Address correspondence to [email protected].References1 Volk DW, Chitrapu A, Edelson JR, et al.: Molecular mechanisms and timing of cortical immune activation in schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 2015; 172:1112–1121Link, Google Scholar2 Kunii Y, Zhang W, Xu Q, et al.: CHRNA7 and CHRFAM7A mRNAs: co-localized and their expression levels altered in the postmortem dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in major psychiatric disorders. Am J Psychiatry 2015; 172:1122–1130Link, Google Scholar3 Cruceanu C, Tan PPC, Rogic S, et al.: Transcriptome sequencing of the anterior cingulate in bipolar disorder: dysregulation of G protein-coupled receptors. Am J Psychiatry 2015; 172:1131–1140Link, Google Scholar4 Wei H, Yuan Y, Liu S, et al.: Detection of circulating miRNA levels in schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 2015; 172:1141–1147Link, Google Scholar5 Frankle WG, Cho RY, Prasad KM, et al.: In vivo measurement of GABA transmission in healthy subjects and schizophrenia patients. Am J Psychiatry 2015; 172:1148–1159Link, Google Scholar6 Kendler KS, Lönn SL, Sundquist J, et al.: Smoking and schizophrenia in population cohorts of Swedish women and men: a prospective co-relative control study. Am J Psychiatry 2015; 172:1092–1100Link, Google Scholar7 Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Derry HM, Fagundes CP: Inflammation: depression fans the flames and feasts on the heat. Am J Psychiatry 2015; 172:1075–1091Link, Google Scholar FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited byNone Volume 172Issue 11 November 01, 2015Pages 1051-1051 Metrics PDF download History Published online 1 November 2015 Published in print 1 November 2015
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