Is it true that panic attacks are caused by a faulty gene

asks jayne b-t:
A. Panic attacks are a reaction to a stressful situation - triggers can be anything from a crowded room to a spider. They can last seconds or up to half an hour.

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During this time the person who is having the panic attack becomes extremely anxious and frightened. They feel they can't breathe and their heart is racing. They become pale and feel ill, and have a frantic need to 'escape' from the situation they find themselves in.

It is estimated that more than ten per cent of people suffer from some form of anxiety disorder, and it looks as if it may run in families.

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Q. How was this discovered
A. Research into families with a history of panic disorder at the Centre for Medical and Molecular Biology in Barcelona found that that a small region on chromosome 15 was duplicated in 90% of the affected family members. The research team then looked at 70 unrelated sufferers and found that 97% had an identical duplication, which has been called DUP25.

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Q. What part of the body does the duplicated area control
A. According to Monica Gratacos, one of the researchers, the duplicated region has more than 60 genes, but only 23 have been identified so far. They include genes for proteins that control communication and interaction between neurones. Researchers believe that too much of one these proteins may make the brain oversensitive to stressful situations.

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Q. So, if you have this duplication, will you definitely suffer from panic attacks
A. No. Even if you have the duplication you may never have a panic attack. It depends on your lifestyle and environmental factors, such as a stressful job, or a major trauma. In the families studied, 20% of people with DUP25 had no anxiety illness at all.

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Q. How close are we to a cure for panic attacks
A. It'll take between five and ten years to finish identifying all the genes in the duplicated area, work out which ones lead to anxiety disorders and then develop drugs to treat them.

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Q. Meanwhile, what can you do if you get a panic attack
A. First, you can learn what the triggers are and avoid them. Reading about the problem will help you understand it, too.

Ask your GP about behavioural therapy which is used to help people deal with their fears, and to teach them how to recognise the early warning signs, and how to control an attack. Anti-depressants are also used successfully to treat panic attacks.

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By Sheena Miller