Genetic Vulnerability to Depression?

Gene Variant Keeps Stress from Becoming Depression

Research published today in the journal Science indicates that variation in a single gene more than doubles a person's chances of succumbing to depression in response to life's stresses.

Although the findings are promising, the authors caution that they cannot yet form the basis for screening for depression. Says Moffitt: "If replication studies confirm that genotypes can predict in advance who is vulnerable to life stresses that bring on depression, this new knowledge could advance efforts to develop a diagnostic test of vulnerability to depression."

Hm! Very interesting. It's too bad there so little long-term clinical data to work with on depression. By long term, I mean, you don't have Egyptian hieroglyphs describing so-n-so's depression, detailing that in the spring they'd perk up and in the autumn they'd be all down in the mouth again.