Researchers have found that a form of ubiquitin, a protein found in the brain, may regulate post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women.
- A form of ubiquitin protein, called K-63, is thought to help form fear memories in women.
- In men, this role was not observed.
- The researchers hope to be able to develop a treatment to target K-63 and thus reduce memories of PTSD.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) disappears within three months or becomes chronic in 20% of cases, according to National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm). Whether it’s one or the other, they always require appropriate care which, currently, is not always effective…
A protein linked to memories of fear in women
Researchers may have just found a new treatment track to reduce the psychiatric disorders linked to the traumatic event. Their results were published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. During their work, the scientists discovered that a form of ubiquitin protein, called K-63, had a very important function in the brain of women: it participates in the formation of memories of fear.
“Often molecules in the brain have the same role for both genders in forming fear-related memories, and this is the first time we’ve found one that has a specific function for one. both, explains Tim Jarome, lead author of this study, in a communicated. We found this feature for the gender that is most likely to have PTSD [les femmes]. It is rare to find sex-specific mechanisms in terms of regulating the factors that cause PTSD.”
A possible treatment to reduce post-traumatic stress
Usually, this protein is responsible for eliminating cells that have been damaged or become useless in the brain. She “marks other proteins for destruction“, details Tim Jarome. But, according to the researchers, a specific form of this protein helps regulate the memory events that cause PTSD. “The fact that it fulfills this function in the context of PTSD in women is very surprising.“, he continues.
Ultimately, this discovery could lead to the development of new treatments for the management of PTSD. Currently, people who suffer from it generally undergo psychotherapy to prevent the traumatic memory from being integrated and processed by the brain as a habitual memory. At the same time, some take medication but, according to Inserm, “they have a limited, purely symptomatic efficacy.”
For about one in five patients, there is a significant risk of seeing the patient relapse after appropriate care, according to Inserm. “At the moment the treatments are not very effective and the success rate is not very goodemphasizes Tim Jarome. PTSD is not the same in all patients, and we know that women are more likely to have them. The therapeutic approaches we adopt to treat them should differentiate between men and women. [La protéine] could be a mechanism that we would target to treat PTSD in women.”
