SCIENTISTS have identified a gene that determines how susceptible people are to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The gene, called DAT, is involved in the transport of dopamine, a chemical that carries messages around the brain. Researchers at the Hebrew University Medical Centre in Jerusalem say their discovery will aid the development of new treatments for the disorder, in which people can keep reliving a trauma through nightmares and flashbacks.
The researchers looked at the incidence of mutations in the gene in 206 people who had suffered a trauma (Molecular Psychiatry, vol 7, p 903). PTSD sufferers were 30 per…
