375 | id == 375
375 | category_id == 22
375 | category_order == 19
375 | category_name == Trauma
375 | category_color == #C47AC0
375 | slug == wwc1-ptsd
375 | title == How Does This Episodic Memory Gene Influence Lifetime and Current PTSD Risk? (WWC1)
375 | meta_description == Variants of WWC1 are associated with PTSD. Click here for some diet and gene-based tips!
375 | summary == <p style="text-align:justify">PTSD can be the result of your brain&rsquo;s inability to &lsquo;forget&rsquo; certain traumatic memories. The WWC1 gene produces KIBRA, a protein that may play a role in this process. Read on to learn more!</p>
375 | overall_score_text == Your PTSD Score (based on WWC1)
375 | image == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/background/KIBRA-PTSD.jpg
375 | author_id == 15
375 | author_name == John Williams
375 | author_title == B.Sc
375 | author_order == 3987
375 | author_photo == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/author-photo/sinan_pic.png
375 | 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>
375 | reviewer == None
375 | medical_reviewer_id == 11
375 | medical_reviewer_name == Puya Yazdi
375 | medical_reviewer_title == MD
375 | publish_date == 2020
375 | publish_date == 10
375 | publish_date == 2
375 | avg_rating == 5.0
375 | tags_id == 63
375 | tags_name == KIBRA Gene
375 | tags_id == 728
375 | tags_name == Long-Term Potentiation
375 | tags_id == 6
375 | tags_name == PTSD
375 | tags_id == 57
375 | tags_name == Synaptic Plasticity
375 | permissions_favorite == False
375 | permissions_rate == False
375 | 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;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">WWC1</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene encodes the protein KIBRA, which helps modify the strength of the connections between your nerve cells. Variants of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">WWC1</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> may play a role in PTSD by changing your brain&rsquo;s ability to &lsquo;weaken&rsquo; or &lsquo;forget&rsquo; certain stored traumatic memories. Lifestyle, diet, and supplement modifications may counteract the effects of these variants by increasing long-term potentiation/synaptic plasticity.</span></span></p> <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>WWC1</em> and PTSD</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">WWC1</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene encodes KIBRA, which stands for &lsquo;kidney and brain expressed protein&rsquo;. KIBRA plays a role in long-term potentiation, the process where the connections between the neurons in your brain become stronger as you use them more, through its interaction with another protein called protein kinase M-zeta [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2898508/"><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;">Certain variants of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">WWC1</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> seem to help with episodic memory, the kind of memory where you remember a specific event happening like a birthday party. These variants are also associated with having a bigger hippocampus, which is the part of your brain associated with memory [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30134813/"><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;">PTSD is largely due to 1 or more traumatic episodic memories that won't go away. Long-term potentiation can cause the spaces between neurons, called synapses, to get bigger and thus make your hippocampus bigger as well. It has been theorized that a bigger hippocampus seems to protect against PTSD. This may be because a bigger hippocampus is a result of all of the strengthened connections in your brain and so your episodic memory is less likely to be flawed in some way because brain proteins like KIBRA are working as they should be [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12740121/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278584617303561"><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 opposite is also true: traumatic stress can cause your hippocampus to get smaller. This means that, even if you carry variants that are 'protective', a large enough number of traumatic events can cause you to develop PTSD anyway. One study found that each traumatic event increases your lifetime risk of PTSD by 23% [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5709292/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23582269/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Your <em>WWC1</em> Results for PTSD</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>*4350360627195373*</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Primary SNP: </strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><em><strong>W</strong></em><strong><em>WC1 </em></strong><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs17070145/"><strong>rs17070145</strong></a><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;C&rsquo; = No association with episodic memory</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;T&rsquo; = associated with improved episodic memory (women only); associated with larger volume of hippocampus</span></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The authors of the study on episodic memory predicted that the &lsquo;T&rsquo; variant should protect against PTSD since a larger hippocampus has been associated with a reduced risk of PTSD in other studies [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30134813/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12740121/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Other Important SNPs:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>WWC1 </em></strong><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs10038727/"><strong>rs10038727</strong></a></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;G&rsquo; = associated with higher odds of PTSD&nbsp;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;A&rsquo; = associated with decreased risk of current PTSD; associated with decreased risk of lifetime PTSD</span></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>WWC1 </em></strong><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs4576167/"><strong>rs4576167</strong></a></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;G&rsquo; = associated with higher odds of PTSD&nbsp;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;C&rsquo; = associated with decreased risk of current PTSD; associated with decreased risk of lifetime PTSD</span></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The two SNPs above appear to be linked; if you have the &lsquo;G&rsquo; variant for one SNP, you probably have it for the other one as well [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23582269/"><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;">For both of the above SNPs, the &lsquo;G&rsquo; variant was associated with an approximately 2x increased risk of lifetime PTSD and a 3x increased risk of current PTSD [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23582269/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">]</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>*2988521954769303*</strong></p> <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Recommendations for Improving PTSD</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>*3753002406107122*</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Synaptic plasticity is the ability of the connections between nerve cells to become stronger or weaker. PTSD is associated with episodic memories that don't seem to be able to change much. Since KIBRA's protective effect is mainly through being able to change the strength of the connections, the recommendations in this section will focus on improving synaptic plasticity and/or long-term potentiation [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2898508/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278584617303561"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Lifestyle</strong></h3> <h4 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Physical Exercise</strong></h4> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">One study found that </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/top-14-proven-health-benefits-exercise-references-mechanisms/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">physical activity</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> seemed to improve episodic memory in aging adults.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Multiple animal and human studies have also found a positive association between regular </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">physical exercise and long-term potentiation. Finally, regular physical exercise has also </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">been found to improve PTSD symptoms [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4711930/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333085497_The_Effects_of_Exercise_on_Long-Term_Potentiation_A_Candidate_Mechanism_of_the_Exercise-Memory_Relationship"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29319376/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29087845/"><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 key word is 'regular'; the studies linked above tended to find connections after the patients </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">had exercised for several months. Don't feel discouraged if you don't see results immediately.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Regular physical exercise may help with symptoms of PTSD.</span></p> <h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Diet</strong></h3> <h4 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Low-Fat Diet</strong></h4> <p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://selfhack.com/blog/saturatedfats-low-carb-diet-vs-high-carb-diet/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">High fat diets</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> have been associated with problems with synaptic plasticity and long-term potentiation. In a different study, they were also associated with a smaller hippocampus and a higher susceptibility to traumatic stress. In the latter study, the 'high fat' Western diet had a bit more than twice as much fat as the healthy diet it was compared to. This seems to suggest that reducing, but not eliminating, fat intake may help with improving the symptoms of and/or reducing the risk of PTSD [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28328738/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5099604/"><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;">Reducing the fat content of your diet may make you less susceptible to PTSD.</span></p> <h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Supplements</strong></h3> <h4 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Ashwagandha</strong></h4> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">An extract containing </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/59-proven-scientific-benefits-ashwagandha-references/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ashwagandha</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> increased neural connections and levels of </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/a-comprehensive-list-of-natural-ways-to-increase-bdnf/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BDNF</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in mice. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">BDNF is responsible for increasing synaptic plasticity. Another experiment found that ashwagandha protected rats against PTSD-induced memory problems [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3214041/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31218539/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28215294/"><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;">While the effects of ashwagandha on PTSD in humans hasn't been studied much, we have found that the herb is associated with reduced stress and anxiety and seems to improve memory. Taken together, the combination of human and animal experiments suggest a possible role for ashwagandha in improving PTSD symptoms [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3573577/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28471731/"><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;">If you have PTSD, consider supplementing with the ashwagandha herb.</span></p>
375 | content_snp_table_4350360627195373_key == 4350360627195373
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375 | content_learn_more_2988521954769303_text == Based on the variants we looked at, your WWC1 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. Reducing fat intake, regular physical exercise, and ashwagandha supplementation may help. Keep scrolling to find out more.
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rsIDs = rs10038727,rs17070145,rs4576167
rsStatus = rs10038727,WWC1,chr5,168459532,G,A,,,30,0,Normal
rsStatus = rs17070145,WWC1,chr5,168418786,C,G,T,,34,0,Normal
rsStatus = rs4576167,WWC1,chr5,168459692,G,C,,,28,0,Normal
