A recent study that looked at hundreds of genetic risk factors for schizophrenia could help researchers gain insight into what causes the condition and develop new treatments.
The study conducted by the Psychiatric Genetics Consortium (PGC) is the largest molecular genetic study ever conducted. The study was published in the journal Nature.
"We've been able to detect genetic risk factors on a huge and unprecedented scale and shed new light on the biological cause of the condition," said study leader Professor Michael O'Donovan from Cardiff University's MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics.
The researchers looked at a total of 80,000 samples taken from both schizophrenia patients and healthy volunteers across the globe and found 108 specific locations in the human genome linked to schizophrenia; 83 of these locations were previously unknown. The findings also revealed new "biological mechanisms and pathways," some of which were active in the immune system.
"Detecting biological risk factors on this scale shows that schizophrenia can be tackled by the same approaches that have already transformed outcomes for people with other diseases," said Sir Michael Owen, Director of Cardiff University's MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics. "We now believe they can also do so for schizophrenia which has, until now, been so poorly understood."
The symptoms of schizophrenia vary from patient to patient but can include "hallucinations, delusions such as paranoia, mood changes, apathy and social withdrawal." A large number of patients suffering from this condition do not respond well to treatment; options are often extremely limited for these individuals.
"The wealth of new findings provides a huge number of launch pads for understanding the disease and will kick-start the stalled process of developing new treatments for patients and their families who are even now still [stigmatized] and blamed for the condition," O'Donovan said.
