iPhone App Helps to Explore the Link of Genetics to Postpartum Depression
There are times I dislike our use of technology, but today I had a change of heart, as I read the story in the NY Times of The University of North Carolina team that is using an iPhone app to recruit women who have had postpartum depression so as to explore the possibility of a genetic link.
Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, Director of the perinatal psychiatry program at the University of North Carolina, along with other researchers in her team are trying to understand the genetic underpinnings of perinatal disorders by collecting DNA samples from a large group of women (100,000) who have had postpartum depression and compare these samples to the DNA from women who have not experienced the illness.
The free App, PPD ACT will be used to recruit and assess women who have experienced PMAD. Women with high scores will be asked to submit DNA through a saliva test. For more information, refer to the link below.
The Post-Postpartum Depression Blog 