Skip to main content

Genetic Complexity of Schizophrenia

Researchers Highlight the Genetic Complexity of Schizophrenia


A new review article written by Patrick Sullivan, MD, FRANZCP, the Yeargan Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Genetics, outlines the genetic foundations for schizophrenia.

Patrick Sullivan, MD, FRANZCP, the Yeargan Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Genetics at the UNC School of Medicine, and researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, have developed a comprehensive outline of the genetics of schizophrenia. The review was published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

Schizophrenia is a neuropsychiatric disorder featuring recurrent episodes of psychosis – such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking – with many patients developing apathy, social withdrawal, and poor emotional control as a result.

Because schizophrenia has been known to run in families for centuries, researchers have turned to genetic testing and analyses to identify risk factors for the condition. Recent genomic research on schizophrenia has identified nearly 300 common genetic variants and over 20 rare variants as significant risk factors for the disorder.

These discoveries have emerged from extensive genome-wide association studies, whole-exome sequencing, and other analyses. Simultaneously, studies of the functional organization of the brain have shed light on the intricate cellular composition and interconnections of the brain in both neurotypical individuals and those with schizophrenia.

These findings reveal a surprising complexity in the mechanisms underlying schizophrenia, emphasizing the role of multiple genes rather than single-gene causation. This “polygenicity” highlights a mechanism that remains challenging to fully understand due to the lack of robust theoretical frameworks and experimental tools. Sullivan and colleagues reviewed these issues and provided ideas for a path forward in the Nature Reviews Neuroscience article.

However, Sullivan and colleagues stress that environmental factors (including lifestyle, drug use, poverty, stress, and complications at birth) are also relevant in addition to genomic risk. Although these factors are more difficult to study compared to the genome, this genetic information is important for researchers to consider because some environmental factors are modifiable.

“The findings to date resoundingly indicate complexity,” wrote Sullivan, who is also director of the UNC Center for Psychiatric Genomics and the UNC Suicide Prevention Institute. “Rather than being a deterrent to future research, this knowledge underscores the importance of accepting schizophrenia as a genetic and environmental enigma and scaling our research accordingly in our efforts improve the lives of those impacted by schizophrenia.”

schizophrenia, mental disorder, delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, negative symptoms, antipsychotic medications, psychotherapy, support services, early diagnosis, genetics, brain chemistry, environmental stressors, stigma, discrimination, treatment, mental health, therapy, awareness, support,

#Schizophrenia, #MentalHealth, #Delusions, #Hallucinations, #DisorganizedThinking, #NegativeSymptoms, #AntipsychoticMedications, #Psychotherapy, #SupportServices, #EarlyDiagnosis, #Genetics, #BrainChemistry, #EnvironmentalStressors, #Stigma, #Discrimination, #Treatment, #MentalHealthAwareness, #Therapy, #Support, #Research

International Conference on Genetics and Genomics of Diseases

Visit: genetics-conferences.healthcarek.com

Award Nomination: x-i.me/gennom1
Award registration: x-i.me/genreg2
Member Nomination: x-i.me/genmember
Member Registration: x-i.me/genreg1
For Enquiries: genetics@healthcarek.com


Get Connected Here
---------------------------------
---------------------------------

Pinterest: x-i.me/genpt
Twitter: x-i.me/gentw
Facebook: x-i.me/genfb
Instagram: x-i.me/genin
Youtube: x-i.me/genyt

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Genetic factors with clinical trial stoppage

Genetic factors associated with reasons for clinical trial stoppage Many drug discovery projects are started but few progress fully through clinical trials to approval. Previous work has shown that human genetics support for the therapeutic hypothesis increases the chance of trial progression. Here, we applied natural language processing to classify the free-text reasons for 28,561 clinical trials that stopped before their endpoints were met. We then evaluated these classes in light of the underlying evidence for the therapeutic hypothesis and target properties. We found that trials are more likely to stop because of a lack of efficacy in the absence of strong genetic evidence from human populations or genetically modified animal models. Furthermore, certain trials are more likely to stop for safety reasons if the drug target gene is highly constrained in human populations and if the gene is broadly expressed across tissues. These results support the growing use of human genetics to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Post-Stroke Cardiovascular risks

Study finds genetic factors key to post-stroke cardiovascular risks In a recent study published in the journal Stroke , researchers identify genetic and molecular risk factors for subsequent cardiovascular outcomes after incident stroke in an effort to identify potential therapeutic targets to improve patient prognoses. Identifying the causes of stroke Stroke is a major global health issue that causes significant disability and mortality, particularly arterial ischemic stroke (AIS). AIS, which is a type of stroke caused by blocked blood flow to the brain, is responsible for up to 85% of stroke cases. AIS arises due to cerebral blood vessel blockage, with modifiable risk factors including hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, atrial fibrillation, obesity, and lifestyle behaviors. Although genome-wide association studies (GWAS) often focus on incident strokes, studying subsequent events can provide new insights into stroke progression. Further research is crucial to identify genetic and...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fruitful innovation

Fruitful innovation: Transforming watermelon genetics with advanced base editors The development of new adenine base editors (ABE) and adenine-to-thymine/ guanine base editors (AKBE) is transforming watermelon genetic engineering. These innovative tools enable precise A:T-to-G and A:T-to-T base substitutions, allowing for targeted genetic modifications. The research highlights the efficiency of these editors in generating specific mutations, such as a flowerless phenotype in ClFT (Y84H) mutant plants. This advancement not only enhances the understanding of gene function but also significantly improves molecular breeding, paving the way for more efficient watermelon crop improvement. Traditional breeding methods for watermelon often face challenges in achieving desired genetic traits efficiently and accurately. While CRISPR/Cas9 has provided a powerful tool for genome editing, its precision and scope are sometimes limited. These limitations highlight the need for more advanced gene-e...
Post a Comment
Read more