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  • Letter to the Editor
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Epigenetics and the war on mental illness

Molecular Psychiatry volume 19, page 960 (2014)Cite this article

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I found the editorial by Licinio and Wong1 entitled ‘Launching the war on mental illness’ very interesting. The authors discussed the need for a coordinated and well planned assault on mental illness, and suggested that the present time for this ‘war’ to be launched is propitious. They suggested that this endeavour has to be done using the processes of translational science, and keeping this in mind, they discussed the modalities involved.

I would like to discuss the role of epigenetics in this endeavour. Epigenetics includes molecular mechanisms like DNA methylation, histone modifications, and RNA-mediated regulation of gene expression. Epigenetics is presently a very active area of research in biomedicine the world over and is proving to be pervasive in its relevance, and monumental in its importance, to mental illness. For example, there is increasing evidence that epigenetics plays a key role in various aspects of normal behaviour2 and In the pathogenesis of virtually every type of mental illness.2, 3, 4 Epigenetics could also play a key role in several ways in the clinical management of mental illness: (1) In the diagnosis of mental illness: epigenetic changes in the body may prove to be useful in the clinical diagnosis of mental illness by providing suitable biomarkers.5 (2) In the prevention of mental illness since abnormal epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression are potentially reversible.6 Prevention of mental illness could be attempted by one or more of the interventional modalities described below (items 3 to 7). (3) In the pharmacotherapy of mental illness: epigenetic therapy, the use of drugs to correct epigenetic defects, could be used for the treatment of mental illness. At present most work on epigenetic therapy is focussed on the design and development of drugs targeting DNA methylation and drugs inhibiting the enzyme histone deacetylase.6 These drugs are being investigated for use in mental illness.2 (4) In the nutritional management of mental illness.7 For example, methyl donors like L-methylfolate and S-adenosylmethionine which donate a methyl group in the body and hence enhance DNA methylation, are being investigated for use in mental illness.7 (5) In psychotherapy: there is evidence that psychotherapy exerts its beneficial effects on patients with mental illness by acting by epigenetic mechanisms.7,8 (6) Electoconvulsive therapy (ECT): there is accumulating evidence that ECT exerts its beneficial effects on patients at least partially by changing epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression in the brain in treated patients.2,9 (7) Physical exercise, which is known to benefit patients with mental illness: there is accumulating evidence that physical exercise exerts its beneficial effects on the mind and body at least partially by epigenetic mechanisms.10

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References

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  1. Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India

    J Peedicayil

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Peedicayil, J. Epigenetics and the war on mental illness. Mol Psychiatry 19, 960 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2014.16

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