Large Number of Rare Genetic Mutations Responsible for Schizophrenia

Two studies suggest that the genetic reasons for schizophrenia are far more complex than previously thought.

Two studies published in the journal Nature suggest that the genetic reasons for schizophrenia are far more complex than previously thought and the condition is caused by a large number of rare genetic mutations rather than a few.

Gathering data from nearly 7,000 people in Bulgaria and Sweden, two teams of scientists said genes implicated in schizophrenia worked in clusters to disrupt specific proteins.

About Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by symptoms of thought, behavior and social problems.

They tend to be part of gene networks that govern signalling between brain cells, or deal with learning and memory, the researchers said.

The "finding is sobering but also revealing: it suggests that many genes underlie risk for schizophrenia and so any two patients are unlikely to share the same profile of risk genes," said Shaun Purcell of the Broad Institute in Massachusetts.

"These types of studies should provide a firm base from which we can chart a course toward the ultimate goal of subtyping patients and offering a more personalised treatment path than the one-size-fits-all approach currently used."

About Genetic Testing
Genetic testing helps to confirm a genetic condition in an individual and involves q complex laboratory techniques

One of the studies compared the genetic sequences of 2,500 schizophrenia patients in Sweden with the same number of healthy individuals, looking for sites and patterns of mutations.

The other compared the gene sequences of more than 600 sufferers and their parents in

Epigenetics
In the recent years ‘epigenetics’ represents inheritable changes in gene expression that do not include DNA alterations.

"Both studies yielded further evidence that the disorder arises from the combined effects of many genes -- a condition known as 'polygenicity'," said a Broad Institute statement.

"The studies also suggest that genetic alterations tended to cluster in a few networks of functionally-related genes."

Schizophrenia is a chronic, often debilitating illness, afflicting about 2.4 million adults in the United States alone.

Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions and paranoia.

Source-AFP