Isolation, anxietyaggressiveness sleeping troubles or concentration … These symptoms are sometimes signs of a “mental state at risk”. To better diagnose these states, which in one in three cases will develop into a psychotic disorder, researchers from the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) have looked at the biological changes that accompany psychological symptoms. They publish their results in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
A change in the expression of certain genes
The team of researchers, led by professor of psychiatry Marie-Odile Krebs, focused on 39 people at risk, aged 15 to 25, from the ICAAR study cohort for a year. Specifically, they observed the methylation of 400,000 sites in their DNA. DNA methylation is a phenomenon epigenetic: it is a chemical transformation of DNA which can modify the expression of genes after birth. They compared the methylation profile of patients experiencing a psychotic episode and those who did not. Result: the patients with psychotic episodes presented epigenetic modifications, in particular on the areas of the DNA which correspond to the genes involved in the oxidative stressand in the body’s inflammatory response.
Towards simple and early screening
“These results pave the way for a better understanding of the biological upheavals that accompany the onset of psychosis.“welcomes theInserm in a press release. The onset of psychosis “could be linked to inflammatory or oxidative stress disrupting the balance already weakened by genetic, environmental or neurodevelopmental vulnerability“said the institution. This study could make it possible to detect psychotic states earlier, by a simple blood test, and to treat them before the most serious symptoms occur.
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