343 | id == 343
343 | category_id == 21
343 | category_order == 18
343 | category_name == Anxiety
343 | category_color == #C47AC0
343 | slug == ngf-anxiety
343 | title == An Anxiety Gene That May Affect How Well You Respond To Therapy (NGF)
343 | meta_description == Variants of NGF are associated with anxiety. Click here for some diet and gene-based tips!
343 | summary == <p style="text-align:justify">The NGF gene encodes nerve growth factor. This protein is not only associated with anxiety but also seems to play a role in how effective certain kinds of therapy are at treating it. Read on to learn more!</p>
343 | overall_score_text == Your Anxiety Score (based on NGF)
343 | image == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/background/NGF-Anxiety.jpg
343 | author_id == 15
343 | author_name == John Williams
343 | author_title == B.Sc
343 | author_order == 3987
343 | author_photo == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/author-photo/sinan_pic.png
343 | author_intro == <p>John received his BSc from the University of Toronto.&nbsp;John has spent the last several years teaching high school science and math to English-language learners, which has forced him to learn how to simplify difficult concepts as much as possible. He has also worked in two different research labs and has experience as a student intern working and studying under doctors in hospitals and clinics to help diagnose and treat patients, interpret lab results and fill out mountains of paperwork.</p>
343 | reviewer == None
343 | medical_reviewer_id == 11
343 | medical_reviewer_name == Puya Yazdi
343 | medical_reviewer_title == MD
343 | publish_date == 2020
343 | publish_date == 9
343 | publish_date == 22
343 | avg_rating == 3.0
343 | tags_id == 479
343 | tags_name == ACTH
343 | tags_id == 112
343 | tags_name == Anxiety
343 | tags_id == 416
343 | tags_name == Cortisol
343 | tags_id == 675
343 | tags_name == NGF
343 | permissions_favorite == False
343 | permissions_rate == False
343 | content_article == <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Summary</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">NGF</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> encodes nerve growth factor, a protein that helps nerve cells develop and survive. Variants of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">NGF</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> play a role in anxiety by activating ACTH, which causes more cortisol (the &lsquo;stress hormone&rsquo;) to be released. Lifestyle, diet and supplement modifications can counteract the effects of these variants by either decreasing the amount of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">NGF</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or by targeting cortisol levels directly.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>NGF</em> and Anxiety</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">NGF</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene codes for nerve growth factor, a protein that is important in the development and survival of nerve cells. While NGF levels are lower in many psychiatric illnesses like depression and schizophrenia, they are actually higher in people who are anxious or under some sort of stress (such as jumping out of an airplane with a parachute -- yes, that&rsquo;s a real study!)</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20066809/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18763222/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28053561/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">NGF causes more ACTH to be released from the brain. ACTH travels to the adrenal glands, which sit on your kidneys, and causes the 'stress hormone' cortisol to be released into the blood. This is the likely mechanism for why high NGF levels are associated with anxiety</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22474604/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41186/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Your <em>NGF</em> Results for Anxiety</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>*3495315732724677*</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Primary SNP:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>NGF </em></strong><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs6330/"><strong>rs6330</strong></a></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;G&rsquo; = associated with increased risk of anxiety (female); </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">associated with decreased risk of anxiety (male); </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">associated with reduced effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;A&rsquo; = not associated with anxiety</span></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Those with the 'G' variant (listed as the 'C' variant in the linked study) were found to have a higher risk of anxiety if female but a lower risk of anxiety if male. The authors of the study proposed that this could be because NGF interacts with the female reproductive hormones</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18763222/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a common treatment used by doctors to treat anxiety. CBT has been found to be better tolerated by patients than taking medication and just as effective. Unfortunately, one study has found that CBT is significantly less likely to work if you have the 'G' variant of this SNP</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16187860/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23772677/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>*8546676730575666*</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Recommendations for Improving Anxiety</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>*4439962057341348*</strong></p> <h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Lifestyle</strong></h3> <h4 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Relaxing Music</strong></h4> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mice that listened to slow rhythm </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/20-scientifically-proven-health-benefits-music-blood-pressure-insomnia/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">music</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for 6 hours per day over a time period of 3 weeks were found to have decreased NGF levels in their brains [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17980967/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Human studies have also linked music to reduced anxiety. Relaxing music in the background decreased anxiety and levels of cortisol (the 'stress' hormone) in patients about to undergo surgery. It had the same effect on pregnant women during C-section; even two hours </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">after</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the surgery, the women who had been exposed to relaxing music reported being more calm [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29705448/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30390639/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Listening to relaxing music may help with anxiety.</span></p> <h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Supplements</strong></h3> <h4 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Probiotics</strong></h4> <p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/a1probiotics-good-bacteria/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Probiotics</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> contain bacteria that provide health benefits. Volunteers that took probiotics containing </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bifidobacterium</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lactobacillus</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for 30 days reported decreased anxiety, hostility and levels of cortisol [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21983070/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The stress hormone cortisol is usually released in response to higher levels of </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/acth/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ACTH</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Since </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">NGF</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> increases ACTH during times of stress, probiotics may be able to provide relief by decreasing the end product cortisol </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">[</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22474604/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41186/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">]</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Probiotics may be effective in helping to reduce the symptoms of anxiety.</span></p>
343 | content_snp_table_3495315732724677_key == 3495315732724677
343 | content_snp_table_3495315732724677_blur == True
343 | content_snp_table_3495315732724677_hidden == False
343 | content_learn_more_8546676730575666_key == 8546676730575666
343 | content_learn_more_8546676730575666_blur == True
343 | content_learn_more_8546676730575666_hidden == False
343 | content_learn_more_8546676730575666_text == Based on the variants we looked at, your NGF gene makes you somewhat more likely to develop anxiety. However, this doesn't necessarily reflect your overall risk of anxiety; it’s just one gene related to it. Relaxing music, probiotic supplementation, and talking to your doctor about options other than cognitive behavioural therapy may help. Keep scrolling to find out more.
343 | content_recommendation_4439962057341348_key == 4439962057341348
343 | content_recommendation_4439962057341348_blur == True
343 | content_recommendation_4439962057341348_hidden == False
rsIDs = rs6330
rsStatus = rs6330,NGF,chr1,115286692,G,A,,,32,0,Normal
