Researchers in the US have found a region of chromosome 2 which is linked to major depression.
Women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with depression. Scientists have long suspected that there may be some kind of genetic influence underlying this gender divide.

Now researchers at the University of Pittsburgh report on an analysis of genes in families affected by major depression. This reveals that a region on chromosome 2 is linked to depression in women, but not in men. There are several candidate genes in this region - one of the most likely being known as CREB1.

Previous work shows that CREB1 is involved in the expression of various genes in the brain. Defects in CREB1 are also found in the brains of people (post-mortem) who have suffered from major depression. This study takes us one step further in understanding depression and may open the door to new forms of diagnosis and treatment.