Global PTSD Genetics Partnership achieves new
milestone
NEW
YORK, April 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Global PTSD Genetics initiative founded in 2015 by Cohen Veterans
Bioscience, the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at Broad
Institute, and the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium today announces
a pivotal milestone in the genetics of post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) has been achieved and published in Nature
Genetics on April
18,2024.
Global PTSD Genetics Partnership achieves
new milestone
This multi-ancestry meta-analysis of genome wide association
studies across 1,222,882 individuals of European ancestry (137,136
cases) and 58,051 ad mixed individuals with African and Native
American ancestry (13,624 cases) identified 95 genome-wide
significant loci, including 80 novel loci. Convergent multiomic
approaches identified 43 potential causal genes, including
modulators of neurotransmitters, ion channels, axon guidance, and
synapses. Additional top genes influence stress, immune, fear, and
threat-related processes, previously hypothesized to
underlie PTSD neurobiology. These findings strengthen the
understanding of neurobiological systems relevant to PTSD
pathophysiology, while also opening new areas for
investigation.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by
intrusive thoughts, hyperarousal, avoidance, and negative
alterations in cognition and mood that can become persistent for
some individuals after traumatic event exposure. Approximately 5.6%
of trauma-exposed adults worldwide experience PTSD during their
lifetimes, and rates are higher in those with high levels and
certain types of trauma exposure such as combat survivors and
assault victims.
The most recent effort from the PTSD Consortium is a
tour-de-force in human genetics, that would not have been possible
without the generous contribution of more than a million
individuals participating in 88 studies. The substantial
efforts of a large scientific team led by Dr. Nievergelt were
responsible for carefully conducting genetic analyses and
insightfully validating the heritable nature of PTSD.
'This discovery firmly validates that heritability is a central
feature of PTSD based on the largest PTSD genetics study conducted
to date and reinforces there is a genetic component that
contributes to the complexity of PTSD" Dr. Caroline M Nievergelt
Professor of Psychiatry, University of
California, San Diego.
With this early genetic architecture in hand, carefully reasoned
discovery and preclinical efforts can be initiated
to begin to mechanistically untangle cellular aspects
that contribute to the complex clinical phenotypes that currently
define PTSD.
"This meta-analysis firmly demonstrates that genetic variation
contributes to the biology of differential risk for PTSD and
provides an essential foothold to advance our broader goal of
understanding disease pathways for preventing and treating the
devastating impact of PTSD." Cohen Veterans Bioscience Founder and
Board Chair, Magali Haas, MD,
PhD.
By integrating putative genetically identified pathways and
known therapies with application to other neuropsychiatric
disorders, support for additional therapeutics may emerge for PTSD.
This research reinforces that there is a genetic
component that contributes to the complexity of PTSD and provides
the opportunity to remove the stigma often related to PTSD
diagnosis.
Major financial support for the PTSD-PGC was provided by the
Cohen Veterans Bioscience, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research
at the Broad Institute, and the National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH; R01MH106595, R01MH124847, R01MH124851).
Statistical analyses were carried out on the NL Genetic Cluster
computer (URL) hosted by SURFsara. Genotyping of samples was
supported in part through the Stanley Center for Psychiatric
Genetics at the Broad Institute of MIT
and Harvard.
This work would not have been possible without the contributions
of the investigators who comprise the PGC-PTSD working group, and
especially the more than 1,307,247 research participants worldwide
who shared their life experiences and biological samples with
PGC-PTSD investigators.
About Cohen Veterans Bioscience
Cohen Veterans
Bioscience is a non-profit 501(c)(3) biomedical research and
technology organization dedicated to advancing brain health by
fast-tracking precision diagnostics and tailored therapeutics. To
support and learn more about our biomarker and computational
disease modeling efforts visit cohenveteransbioscience.org.
Media Contact:
Michael Carson
Head of Communications
Cohen Veterans Bioscience
media@cohenbio.org
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SOURCE Cohen Veterans Bioscience