Risk genes for schizophrenia may shed light on potential genetic factors

schizophrenia

In a remarkable feat of collaboration and scale, U of T researchers have helped identify novel risk factors associated with the development of schizophrenia. Their work incorporates data from over 40,000 individuals analyzed by scientists around the globe…In this study, scientists looked at the association between the copy number of certain genetic factors and the presence of schizophrenia.

The CNV and schizophrenia working groups [showed] that schizophrenia is often associated with a higher copy number for certain genes than that found in healthy individuals. This confirmed previous studies and also brought new genetic risk factors to light. The group also discovered that schizophrenia patients are more likely to have deletions in gene sets that are important for connections between neurons.

The findings in this study have important consequences for the clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia. [Dr. Christian Marshall,  Assistant Professor in Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at U of T] pointed out that only approximately “5% of the schizophrenia cases that are run on clinical microarrays will have a clinically significant finding. This is obviously important for families since it establishes a reason for the disorder.”

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: New developments in the genetics of schizophrenia

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