Largest Genomic Study to Date May Lead to New Treatments for Schizophrenia

Scientists may have uncovered a little more about what causes schizophrenia. They've identified over 100 locations in the human genome associated with the risk of developing this condition in what is the largest genomic study published on any psychiatric disorder to date.

Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental illness that affects about one in 100 people worldwide. It's characterized by hallucinations, delusions and disordered thinking. Often, it emerges in the teens and early 20s, and lasts a lifetime. The medications currently on the market for schizophrenia only treat one of the symptoms of this illness, psychosis, and there are no effective treatments for the debilitating cognitive symptoms. That's why learning more about the biology underlying the condition is so important.

In order learn a bit more about schizophrenia, the scientists examined 36,989 genetic samples from schizophrenia patients and 113,075 healthy volunteers. They found 108 specific locations in the human genome associated with risk for schizophrenia. In addition, a total of 83 of these locations had not previously been linked to the illness.

"Large collaborative efforts such as this one are needed to identify genes that influence complex disorders," said Jo Knight, the senior scientist who spearheaded this project, in a news release. "The result is a major advance in understanding the genetic basis of brain functioning in schizophrenia."

That's not all the researchers found, either. They also discovered a smaller number of genes associated with schizophrenia that are active in the immune system. This offers some support for a previous theory that there is a link between schizophrenia and immunological processes. In addition, the researchers found an association between the illness and the region of the genome that holds DRD2, the gene that produces the dopamine receptor targeted by all approved medications for schizophrenia.

The findings reveal a bit more about schizophrenia, and could lead to future treatments. This could be huge in terms of changing the lives of those suffering with the illness.

The findings are published in the journal Nature.