Doctors to map survivors' genes

Doctors to map survivors' genes.

APINYA WIPATAYOTIN

TSUNAMI AFTERMATH / POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

The genetic patterns of villagers from the six tsunami-hit provinces on the Andaman coast will be mapped to help researchers identify genes associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Scientists from the Mental Health Department and Chulalongkorn and Mahidol universities have been working since February 2005 to collect blood and DNA samples from more than 3,000 villagers showing PTSD symptoms in the aftermath of the tsunami. The samples are being kept at Rachanukul Hospital.

Scientists will decode the gene sequences from the collected samples to find common characteristics of the gene related to the mental illness.

The project, said to be the largest PTSD study in the world, has captured the interest of international research institutes, including Japan's RIKEN SNP Research Centre in Yokohama. SNP stands for single nucleotide polymorphism.

Yusuke Nakamura, the institute's director, during a recent public lecture in Bangkok, said that Japan had developed advanced technology and knowledge about the genes that might cause PTSD and was interested in joining the study.

PTSD is a serious health threat to people worldwide. Therefore, if scientists could identify the genes that were linked to PTSD, they would be able to develop a medicine that could cure the disease effectively, Dr Nakamura said.

''The planned study of PTSD among tsunami-affected people is unique and interesting because there were over a thousand people diagnosed with the disease in the tsunami aftermath,'' he said.

Thongchai Thavichachart, president of the Thailand Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences, which has been working on the identification of genes linked to common diseases among Thais, said more details and a benefit-sharing agreement must be worked out before the research team accepts Japan's proposal to join the project.

''We have to carefully study the proposal because the project involves personal information of the PTSD patients. Information confidentiality is our major concern,'' said Dr Thongchai.

''The project also needs approval from the medical ethics committee.''

Dr Nakamura said mutual cooperation would help bring about a bright future for medical science development in Asia.

Bangkok Post
Thursday January 04, 2007