Epigenetics in Psychiatry

With rapid evolution ongoing in the field of epigenetics, clinicians, hindered by time constraints, are often unable to adequately keep up with the new developments that apply to their patients and practice. Epigenetics in Psychiatry aims to tackle this precise problem. With near absolute completeness, the text covers not only the most recent developments in epigenetics related to psychiatric disorders, but also lays an effective and thorough foundation explaining the basics of molecular epigenetics and the historical development of psychiatric epigenetics. Herein the authors have carefully evaluated, synthesized, analyzed, and interpreted concise summaries of a multitude of hundreds of investigative articles that would otherwise take interested clinicians months to study and evaluate. To address controversies in the field, the articles presented are examined under an objective lens in regards to scientific and statistical validity. Biases and study limitations are factored into the interpretation of all articles presented. The chapters are organized in a logical and thoughtful manner, and each chapter serves a scaffold on which subsequent chapters build. This deliberate arrangement provides structure that acts a conduit for easier decoding of dense molecular and other related scientific information. Vivid diagrams are clear and uncluttered, illustrating a summary of complicated mechanisms described. The text is divided into four parts, namely: “Part 1: General Aspects of Epigenetics in Psychiatry,” “Part 2: Epigenetics of Psychiatric Disorders,” “Part 3: Epigenetic Therapy of Psychiatric Disorders,” “Part 4: Other Topics in Epigenetics in Psychiatry.” Part 1 introduces the fundamentals of molecular epigenetic change while touching upon the topics of epidemiology of epigenetics, history of epigenetics in psychiatry, developmental epigenetics, and even laboratory techniques in psychiatric epigenetics. Part 2 is of vital importance to clinicians because it summarizes the recent and past literature on the epigenetics of each major adult psychiatric disease in addition to epigenetic correlations of stress, suicide, neuropsychiatric conditions, and some child and adolescent psychiatric disorders. Part 3 provides a context for thinking about the future of psychiatric treatments when describing epigenetic therapeutic targets with treatments such as DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTs) and histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi). However, part 3 also describes the epigenetic effects of current treatments of psychiatric conditions including antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers. This provides an epigenetic frame for both current and future psychopharmacologic approaches. Epigenetics in Psychiatry offers readers a well-delineated, thoughtful, concise and complete education on all aspects of epigenetics as it relates to psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. However, due to the texts focus on scientific literature and findings, non-clinicians and other public consumers may find it difficult to quickly decipher this information without previous medical knowledge or scientific literacy. In contrast, clinicians, researchers, and healthcare trainees will find this text of great utility. The focus on laboratory techniques, proper study design, and the limitations of past investigations delivers absolutely fundamental knowledge for researchers and interested clinicians alike. The thorough discussion of psychiatric conditions and the related epigenetic literature will especially benefit clinicians who are hoping to understand how epigenetics affects the etiology and pathophysiology of these conditions. This text is highly recommended for those both clinically or research focused as it delivers a concise and concurrently effective analysis of the epigenetic literature pertaining to evaluation and treatment of debilitating psychiatric conditions, helping clinicians educate and treat their patients on their road to recovery.