359 | id == 359
359 | category_id == 22
359 | category_order == 19
359 | category_name == Trauma
359 | category_color == #C47AC0
359 | slug == TERT-PTSD
359 | title == Can DNA Damage Influence PTSD? (TERT)
359 | meta_description == TERT codes for an enzyme that can protect DNA. Variants of TERT have been associated with PTSD. Read more here.
359 | summary == <p style="text-align:justify"><strong>The <em>TERT</em> gene codes for part of the telomerase enzyme, which functions to protect DNA from damage. A variant of <em>TERT</em> has been associated with increased risk of PTSD. Read more to learn about this variant, and to learn about how you may be able to mitigate its negative effects.&nbsp;</strong><br />  &nbsp;</p>
359 | overall_score_text == Your PTSD Score (based on TERT gene)
359 | image == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/background/TERT-PTSD.jpg
359 | author_id == 14
359 | author_name == Shany Lahan
359 | author_title == MS (Neuroscience)
359 | author_order == 5
359 | author_photo == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/author-photo/Shany.webp
359 | author_intro == <p>Shany received her MSc in Neuroscience from Western University.</p>    <p>Prior to joining SelfDecode, Shany conducted research related to Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease, and taught science to undergraduate students. She believes that research should be accessible to everyone, regardless of scientific background. Shany joined SelfDecode&nbsp;with a mission to help others optimize their health and wellbeing &ndash; as well as help them understand the science behind it all.</p>
359 | reviewer == None
359 | medical_reviewer_id == 11
359 | medical_reviewer_name == Puya Yazdi
359 | medical_reviewer_title == MD
359 | publish_date == 2020
359 | publish_date == 9
359 | publish_date == 28
359 | avg_rating == 5.0
359 | tags_id == 742
359 | tags_name == Amygdala
359 | tags_id == 112
359 | tags_name == Anxiety
359 | tags_id == 750
359 | tags_name == DNA Damage
359 | tags_id == 163
359 | tags_name == Telomerase
359 | tags_id == 162
359 | tags_name == Telomeres
359 | tags_id == 161
359 | tags_name == TERT Gene
359 | permissions_favorite == False
359 | permissions_rate == False
359 | 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;">TERT </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">codes for part of the telomerase enzyme, which can prevent damage to DNA. A variant of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">TERT </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">may play a role in PTSD by lowering the enzymatic activity of telomerase. Lifestyle modifications may counteract the effects of this variant by increasing telomerase activity.</span></span></p> <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>TERT</em> and PTSD</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><a href="https://selfdecode.com/gene/tert/"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">TERT </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">gene</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> codes for hTERT, a part of the </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/telomerase-telomeres-aging/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">telomerase</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> enzyme. Telomerase can protect DNA that is essential to the production of proteins (genes), by adding non-essential DNA (telomeres) to the ends of condensed DNA structures (chromosomes). This ultimately prevents genes from becoming damaged [</span><a href="https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/TERT"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Within our bodies, cells are constantly dividing in order to produce more cells. Unfortunately, telomeres shorten in length with every cell division, which can pave the way for undesired effects arising from DNA damage [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3896987/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although telomere shortening is a normal process associated with aging, psychological stress has been shown to increase the rate at which telomeres shorten, by decreasing the activity of telomerase [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15574496/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In line with this, individuals with </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/ptsd-causes-treatments/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">PTSD</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> have been observed to have shorter telomeres than their healthy counterparts [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30685566/"><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;">Shorter telomeres in PTSD have been linked to increased activity of the amygdala, a region of the brain well known to be involved in fear responses. Indeed, PTSD patients often experience symptoms of </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/63-factors-raising-stress-cortisol-level-backed-science/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">stress</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and anxiety in response to events that elicit traumatic, fear-based memories [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32439402/"><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;">During brain development, shorter telomeres may inhibit the normal maturation of brain cells. This could lead to altered brain cell connections within regions observed to be affected in PTSD [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6492163/"><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;">A variant of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">TERT </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">has been associated with PTSD. Similar to psychological stress, it&rsquo;s possible that this variant may lower the enzymatic activity of telomerase, which could promote DNA damage and alter brain cell connectivity within the amygdala. However, this mechanism is largely unclear and requires further research [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30685566/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].&nbsp;</span></p> <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Your <em>TERT</em> Results for PTSD</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;">*6108137445005299*</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Primary SNP: </strong><strong><em>TERT</em></strong> <a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs2736100/"><strong>rs2736100</strong></a></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;A&rsquo; = Increased risk of PTSD</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;C&rsquo; = Not associated with PTSD</span></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;">*1627550693278963*</p> <h2 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Recommendations for Reducing Symptoms of PTSD</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;">*6458475366067031*</p> <h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Lifestyle</strong></h3> <h4 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Exercise</strong></h4> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Individuals who regularly take part in physical </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/top-14-proven-health-benefits-exercise-references-mechanisms/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">exercise</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> have been observed to experience lower levels of neuroticism, anxiety, and depression. Conversely, a number of studies have shown that individuals who do not exercise regularly may be at increased risk of anxiety [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16439008"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26088005/"><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;">Physical exercise interventions based on aerobic exercise, resistance training, or both improved PTSD in multiple trials. While aerobic exercise was more effective at reducing stress and anxiety, resistance training also helped ameliorate PTSD symptoms and tolerance to stress [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29049901/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29076530/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29145076/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15869081/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24911173/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25443996/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31743507/"><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;">In a clinical trial of dementia caregivers, aerobic exercise was shown to decrease stress and lengthen telomeres. In a similar clinical trial, aerobic exercise was found to increase the production of hTERT. Taken together, these two studies provide evidence that aerobic exercise may increase telomerase activity [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30266522/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28587932/"><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;">Exercise may reduce symptoms of PTSD by increasing telomerase activity.</span></p> <h4 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Stress Reduction (Meditation and Yoga)</strong></h4> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mindfulness is an individual practice, as well as a form of </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/meditation/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">meditation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Mindfulness, meditation, and </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/health-benefits-yoga/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">yoga</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> have been shown to reduce stress in a number of studies.&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Various mindfulness meditation interventions have been shown to help mitigate symptoms in individuals with PTSD [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27537781"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26752098/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28806536/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29893182/"><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;">A yoga</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">program named &ldquo;trauma-sensitive yoga&rdquo; has been associated with reduced symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety in individuals with PTSD [</span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27502798"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5393408/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28747121/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26133204/"><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;">A stress reduction technique that included meditation was found to increase the production of telomerase. Similarly, a combined yoga and meditation intervention was found to significantly increase telomerase activity [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26571023/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29614706/"><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;">Meditation and yoga may reduce stress. Stress reduction, in turn, may reduce symptoms of PTSD by increasing telomerase activity.</span></p>
359 | content_snp_table_6108137445005299_key == 6108137445005299
359 | content_snp_table_6108137445005299_blur == True
359 | content_snp_table_6108137445005299_hidden == False
359 | content_learn_more_1627550693278963_key == 1627550693278963
359 | content_learn_more_1627550693278963_blur == True
359 | content_learn_more_1627550693278963_hidden == False
359 | content_learn_more_1627550693278963_text == Based on the variants we looked at, your TERT gene makes you somewhat more likely to develop PTSD. However, this doesn't necessarily reflect your overall risk of PTSD; it’s just one gene related to it. Exercise and stress reduction (yoga and meditation) may help. Keep scrolling to find out more.
359 | content_recommendation_6458475366067031_key == 6458475366067031
359 | content_recommendation_6458475366067031_blur == True
359 | content_recommendation_6458475366067031_hidden == False
rsIDs = rs2736100
rsStatus = rs2736100,TERT,chr5,1286401,C,A,,,16,12,HET
