Project Summary

Richard G. Boles, M.D. (Independent Investigator 2005) of Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles/University of Southern California, plans to study whether the function of the mitochondrion, the part of the cell that makes energy, is somehow damaged in individuals with depression. Dr. Boles hypothesizes that individuals with a lesser ability to make energy in their mitochondria are at a higher risk for developing depression, as well as migraine, chronic fatigue and perhaps some other conditions. Mitochondria have their own DNA ("mtDNA") that is passed on from a mother to all of her children. Some studies show that some genetic factor for depression is coded in mtDNA because of maternal inheritance patterns of the condition. Preliminary findings from Dr. Boles show individuals with known maternally-inherited mitochondrial disease are more likely to be depressed. In this study, Dr. Boles will sequence the mtDNA of 30 patients each with unipolar depression and hearing problems, bipolar disease, and cyclic vomiting syndrome, a disease that may be associated with migraine, and correlate the findings with clinical data, including the occurrence of migraine (a condition that is very common in depression and in individuals with established mitochondrial disease). Mitochondrial function also will be tested in cell culture. Findings might help characterize the relationship between low energy and symptoms, such as migraine, in depressed individuals and lead to different types of treatments for these people.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Unipolar Depression

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