MADRID, 2 ( EUROPA PRESS)

Scientists from the University of California at Los Angeles ( UCLA), in United States, claim that post-traumatic stress disorder can be inherited, after having connected a Variant of two genes involved in the production of serotonin with an increased risk of developing this condition, according to the results of a study published in the ' Journal of Affective Disorders '.

This condition tends to occur after having suffered a serious situation, such as a physical or sexual abuse, a terrorist attack, a serious accident or a natural disaster, and is characterized by the presence of continuous memories of traumatic moment.

In this study, headed by the doctor of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and human behavior Armen Goenjian, extracted DNA samples of 200 adults of several generations of 12 families who had suffered the symptoms that characterize this disorder after surviving the devastating 1988 earthquake in Armenia.

In this way, the researchers found that people who had specific variants of two genes, the TPH1 and TPH2, were more likely to develop PTSD.

Both genes are responsible for controlling the production of serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates mood, sleep and alertness, which generally are interrupted when appears this disorder.

we have the suspicion that the genetic variants produced less serotonin, which predisposes persons to suffer a post-traumatic stress disorder following exposure to violence or disaster”, has recognized Goenjian.

In fact, notes that his next goal is to “seek to replicate the results in a larger, more heterogeneous population study.”

This disorder, which affects to about 7 percent of Americans, has become a serious health problem for a large percentage of veterans who return from Iraq and Afghanistan.

In this sense, the UCLA scientists suggest that this finding could be used to predict who may be at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder in the future.

“a diagnostic tool based on TPH1 and TPH2 could allow commanders to identify the soldiers who are at increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder and reorganize their troops accordingly”, pointed Goenjian.

Also, also may help scientists find alternative treatments for the disease.