Project Summary

Jennifer L. Payne, M.D. (Young Investigator 2004) of Johns Hopkins University, aims to test whether women with mood disorders who experience hormonally-triggered depressions have an underlying genetic vulnerability that differs from women with mood disorders who do not experience hormonally-triggered depressions. In the proposed project, Dr. Payne will evaluate data from several hundred women who have previously participated in familial genetic studies to determine if the trait of mood symptoms which are triggered by hormonal fluctuations, such as the menstrual cycle and in the postpartum period, runs in families. Further, specific polymorphisms, in the genes for estrogen receptors and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, will be examined for linkage to this trait in both women with and without hormonally-induced mood changes. These studies may lead to an identification of women at risk for hormonally-triggered depressions and to new treatments for them.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Mood Disorders (General)

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