Pharmacogenetics Epigenetics Mental Health Disorders

In summary, Schiele, Gottschalk & Domschke (2020) stipulates that the origin of mental disorders is very complex and controlled by several factors, including an interplay between environmental and genetic factors. The paper evaluates candidate genes derived from different biological processes to prove the effect of environmental factors on the human genome. The environment and genes are interlinked by epigenetic mechanisms like DNA and histone modifications, while microRNAs are the translator. Hence, exposure to environmental factors like stress and anxiety often leads to a specific shape for epigenetic patterns leading to an alteration of the genome in a person’s lifespan if they are consistently exposed to environmental factors that affect their mental health. However, epigenetic alterations are reversible through psychotherapy.

Pharmacogenetics is the process used to determine the body’s response to certain medications. Pharmacogenetic testing on patients with mental health disorders exposes them to epigenetic changes. The changes affect their ability to metabolize any medication to treat or suppress their mental disorder. According to Miller (2021), epigenetic modifications caused by environmental factors and life stress contribute to the final identification of a particular gene that will be used in determining a gene’s phenotype. The epigenetic modifications cause DNA methylation in the promoter sequence of a gene, leading to the addition of chemicals to the DNA structures, especially in histones and microRNAs modifications. The DNA sequence affected is not used during pharmacogenetic testing, but it can affect the patent’s final putative phenotype. This correlation between epigenetics and pharmacogenetic poses a significant challenge to psychotherapists who prescribe drugs to their patients.

Epigenetics are altered to respond to environmental signals that psychotherapy can modify, but the mechanisms that can be used for action have not yet been determined (Schiele, Gottschalk & Domschke, 2020). The available evidence on epigenetic modifications does not recommend what the doctors should follow when prescribing psychogenetic drugs to their patients. This is because it has not been resolved if the modifications come due to the elemental pathophysiology. Research in epigenetics is quite promising in predicting, preventing, and treating mental disorders, but this can only be done in the future if researchers delve deeper into determining how psychotherapy can be integrated with epigenetic mechanisms to establish the cause of a genetic modification before administering a drug.

A person’s unchanging DNA genome goes through epigenetic processes that vary from one person to another. One person may experience methylation in their promoter sequence, leading to the gene producing less CYP450 2D6 enzyme (Miller, 2021). Another person may experience a reduction in transcription access for the genes. Another person may experience a trigger that causes microRNAs to be produced in excess hence neutralizing the microRNA that could have been used to produce the CYP459 2D6 enzyme. Evidence can be developed from the fact that epigenetic alterations in the 2 CYP450 2D6 genes can identify the basis of photoconversion to establish its interlinkage with putative phenotypes that guide phamarcogenenomics.