SIR Medicine Investigation Abstract
THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE GENETIC COMPOSITION OF THE BORNA DISEASE VIRUS AND THE GENETICS OF MOOD AND THOUGHT DISORDERS
Presenter:
Kate Moss, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 W. Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506
Whitney Rossmiller, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 W. Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506
Advisors:
Dr. David Evenson, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 W. Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506
Dr. Susan Styer, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 W. Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506
Abstract:
Last year, we examined the correlation between clinical depression and the Borna Disease Virus (BDV), a RNA virus that is now thought to be responsible for some mood and thought disorders. After reviewing literature which included in vitro experimentation we concluded that infection with BDV increases the risk of clinical depression. This year we have continued our research looking at BDV and mood and thought disorders at a genetic level. In clinical depression, the serotonin transporter gene, specifically the S or L allele, inherited through parents, has been a leading cause in increasing the risk of this disease. Similarly, in schizophrenia, the COMT gene, specifically the Val or Met allele, which codes for enzymes that metabolize neurotransmitters, predicts the rate of prefrontal dopamine activity in the brain. After reviewing new literature, there seems to be a lack of direct correlation between the genetic composition of BDV and of mood and thought disorders, but genetic makeup as well as environmental factors definitely play a role in whether an individual suffers from depression or schizophrenia.