Author: Anastasia Merentsova
Translator: Turarova Aiym
Editor: Kamila Kigbaeva
A team from Jikei Medical University (Japan) studied the sixth type of human herpes virus (a neurotrophic virus), which is present in the blood of almost every inhabitant of the planet, but is in a latent (dormant) state. In this case, the reaction to stress can lead to the development of disease.
According to the study, the concentration of the virus becomes higher during stress or severe fatigue, which allows you to detect it in the saliva. The gene (SITH-1) contained in the virus begins to produce a specific protein, SITH-1, which directs calcium to the cells of the olfactory bulb (responsible for the perception of odors and the emotional response of a person to certain flavors) and kills them. Violations of the functions of the bulb lead to an increased stress response of the body, which, affecting the brain causes depression.
However, it is difficult to determine the concentration of this protein, since its release occurs only in the brain. But, as it turned out, the SITH-1 compound can not independently send calcium to the cell: to do this, it needs to join with another protein, CALM. Consequently, the body's response to excessive doses of calcium is the production of antibodies (the SITH-1/CALM compound), which can be detected in the blood.
The appearance of antibodies indicates that the SITH-1 protein is already in the olfactory bulb, has joined with the CALM protein and sends calcium to the cells.
In a patient with depression, the concentration of antibodies will be 20 times higher than in healthy people, and an increase in protein by 12 times will indicate a high risk of developing the disease. At the same time, even those who are constantly in a bad mood or depressed by something, there is an increase in the level of antibodies in the blood. It was also found that the effect of SITH-1 protein is experienced by 80% of people suffering from depression.
If the earlier statement that depression can be caused by a virus was only an assumption, now, thanks to scientists from Japan, this is an established fact. In the future, this will help in identifying the mechanisms of disease development, early diagnosis and targeted treatment of depressive states.
Source: https://naked-science.ru/article/medicine/prichinoj-vozniknoveniya-depressii-okazalsya-virus
