Genetic Cause of Depression

While most of us might get depressed or feel sad several times during the course of a day, it can be called depression only if the feeling of sadness persists for a long period of time, which could mean several weeks or months. Depression affects the way an individual thinks, feels and behaves. Around 300 million people worldwide are affected with depression annually, a major part of them being young adults. A research team from University of Maryland was able to prove that the gene product of Slc6a15 is reduced in individuals with depression and increasing or up-regulating the Slc6a15 protein could mediate the risk of depression.