midterms and mutant genes

[bloom]

She made it.

I was worried about my daughter getting through midterms (college) - because it sounded like she was on the verge of a meltdown.

(She has ended up in the hospital before).

It's a huge relief. I was on the verge of posting about it - but I had been doing web searches to try to figure out if there was a resource that could help her.

I had been wondering if she had Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder or Asperger's Disorder - she had been diagnosed with something else or several things - but I don't think they got it right and she won't get help, anyway. So it's a huge worry for me when she is on the verge of falling apart.


One thing I ended up finding was (it's interesting that many of these things might be so related - lots of crossover in symptoms):

Mutant gene linked to obsessive compulsive disorder

October 27, 2003

"Analysis of DNA samples from patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and related illnesses suggests that these neuropsychiatric disorders affecting mood and behavior are associated with an uncommon mutant, malfunctioning gene that leads to faulty transporter function and regulation. Norio Ozaki, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues in the collaborative study explain their findings in the October 23 "Molecular Psychiatry".

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found a mutation in the human serotonin transporter gene, hSERT, in unrelated families with obsessive compulsive disorder. A second variant in the same gene of some patients with this mutation suggests a genetic "double hit," resulting in greater biochemical effects and more severe symptoms. Among the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide, obsessive compulsive disorder is a mental illness characterized by repetitive unwanted thoughts and behaviors that impair daily life.

"In all of molecular medicine, there are few known instances where two variants within one gene have been found to alter the expression and regulation of the gene in a way that appears associated with symptoms of a disorder," said co-author Dennis Murphy, M.D., National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Laboratory of Clinical Science. "This step forward gives us a glimpse of the complications ahead in studying the genetic complexity of neuropsychiatric disorders."

Psychiatric interviews of the patients' families revealed that 6 of the 7 individuals with the mutation had obsessive compulsive disorder or OC personality disorder and some also had anorexia nervosa (AN), Asperger's syndrome (AS), social phobia, tic disorder, and alcohol or other substance abuse/dependence. Researchers found an unusual cluster of obsessive compulsive disorder, AN, and AS/autism, disorders together with the mutation in approximately one percent of individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder."

http://www.brightsurf.com/news/oct_03/NIMH_news_102703.php

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Diagnostic Criteria - Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis1/p21-pe10.html

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Diagnostic Criteria For 299.80 Asperger's Disorder

http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/aswhatisit.html