While I was waiting for 23andMe genetic test results, I was wondering how I can learn about a relationship between genetics and mental health. It’s a tricky topic, of course, since there are many scientific debates if genes can affect risks of mental illnesses. If you do 23andMe test, you can request the information about health risks and receive insights about brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. However, you won’t find anything related to conditions such as ADHD, Schizophrenia, Autism, and so on. It makes total sense because we are not entirely sure what causes spectrum disorders.
I looked up information about the 23andMe report, and it turned out you can download raw genetic data to use, for example, in 3rd-party applications. One of such apps is Genetic Genie where you can do methylation analysis of your genome. The test shows if you have a mutation in a specific gene at a particular location.
What is interesting about it, that mutations can be considered to be linked to some genetic diseases. Diving deeper to the Internet, you will find that mutation does not necessarily cause symptoms, and many disorders are very complex and unknown.
After Genetic Genie analyzes genetic data, you receive insights about 26 genes. You have two copies of each gene - from father and mother. The defect may occur in one or both copies that you see in the table as + (mutation) or - (no mutation).
As my particular interest, I looked into the genes that theoretically affect levels of dopamine which has lots of functions in our body but famous as a motivation booster.
Here’s what I found about some of these genes:
1) MTHFR C677T. Problems in this gene referred to the ability to metabolize some nutrients normally and may decrease levels of neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine) and hormones (e.g., serotonin, estrogen, and testosterone). As a result, mutations linked to the development of diseases such as schizophrenia, ADHD, fertility issues, and some heart problems.
23andMe stated in their blog that there is no proof that MTHFR mutations directly cause any disease and I’m leaving their take on MTHFR gene here.
2) VDR Taq. VDR is a vitamin D receptor which means the body with mutations may have difficulties absorbing Vitamin D which stimulates enzymes that create dopamine.
3) COMP. Even if your gene has no mutation, it worth looking at because it has an exciting connection with VDR Taq gene. COMP helps to break down certain neurotransmitters so provides efficient system’s “cleanup”. That means if your Comp gene has no mutation (-/-) and your VDR is mutated (+/+) you have the combination with the most significant dopamine deficit due to low dopamine production and efficient cleanup.
4) BHMT-02. I found almost zero information about this gene, 02 is linked to gut environment, while some other variants of BHMT gene were linked to ADHD/ADD due to its effect on noradrenaline levels which plays a role in attention.
Even it possible to have no real effect of the mutations on body and brain, it was exciting to bump into Genetic Genie and hope to see more research in the area.
I looked up information about the 23andMe report, and it turned out you can download raw genetic data to use, for example, in 3rd-party applications. One of such apps is Genetic Genie where you can do methylation analysis of your genome. The test shows if you have a mutation in a specific gene at a particular location.
What is interesting about it, that mutations can be considered to be linked to some genetic diseases. Diving deeper to the Internet, you will find that mutation does not necessarily cause symptoms, and many disorders are very complex and unknown.
After Genetic Genie analyzes genetic data, you receive insights about 26 genes. You have two copies of each gene - from father and mother. The defect may occur in one or both copies that you see in the table as + (mutation) or - (no mutation).
As my particular interest, I looked into the genes that theoretically affect levels of dopamine which has lots of functions in our body but famous as a motivation booster.
Here’s what I found about some of these genes:
1) MTHFR C677T. Problems in this gene referred to the ability to metabolize some nutrients normally and may decrease levels of neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine) and hormones (e.g., serotonin, estrogen, and testosterone). As a result, mutations linked to the development of diseases such as schizophrenia, ADHD, fertility issues, and some heart problems.
23andMe stated in their blog that there is no proof that MTHFR mutations directly cause any disease and I’m leaving their take on MTHFR gene here.
2) VDR Taq. VDR is a vitamin D receptor which means the body with mutations may have difficulties absorbing Vitamin D which stimulates enzymes that create dopamine.
3) COMP. Even if your gene has no mutation, it worth looking at because it has an exciting connection with VDR Taq gene. COMP helps to break down certain neurotransmitters so provides efficient system’s “cleanup”. That means if your Comp gene has no mutation (-/-) and your VDR is mutated (+/+) you have the combination with the most significant dopamine deficit due to low dopamine production and efficient cleanup.
4) BHMT-02. I found almost zero information about this gene, 02 is linked to gut environment, while some other variants of BHMT gene were linked to ADHD/ADD due to its effect on noradrenaline levels which plays a role in attention.
Even it possible to have no real effect of the mutations on body and brain, it was exciting to bump into Genetic Genie and hope to see more research in the area.
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