Schizophrenia is a complex of multiple disorders...
Schizophrenia is actually eight disorders, not one disease
Sept. 15, 2014 | "What we’ve done here, after a decade of frustration in the field of psychiatric genetics, is identify the way genes interact with each other," explained Robert Cloninger.
Schizophrenia is actually eight disorders, not one disease
Sept. 15, 2014 | "What we’ve done here, after a decade of frustration in the field of psychiatric genetics, is identify the way genes interact with each other," explained Robert Cloninger.
Schizophrenia isn't a single disease but eight distinct disorders, each with their own genetic footprint. That's the discovery researchers at Washington University in St. Louis made after analyzing the symptoms and genetic coding of 4,200 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 3,800 healthy controls. It's long been understood that a large percentage of the risk of developing schizophrenia is inherited, passed on in the gene pool. But scientists have struggled to locate the specific genetic malfunctions that correspond to the mental disorder.
This latest study, one of the most exhaustive in the history of schizophrenia research, traced connections between different genetic codes, or clusters, and distinct symptoms. First, by cataloguing the different genetic clusters that have previously been linked with schizophrenia, researchers began to see the ways different genes might interact to cause psychological problems. "Genes don't operate by themselves," explained study author C. Robert Cloninger. "They function in concert much like an orchestra, and to understand how they're working, you have to know not just who the members of the orchestra are but how they interact."
Study finds schizophrenia is actually 8 genetically distinct disorders, not one single disease.
But the real clarity came when researchers organized schizophrenia patients into groups based on their most prevalent symptoms. When the researchers did this, they were able to see correlations between certain genetic signatures and specific symptoms. For example, certain gene clusters were associated with hallucinations or delusions. Another set of specific clusters was linked with disorganized speech and behavior.
In the end, researchers located eight distinct connections between groups of genes and schizophrenia symptoms. "What we've done here, after a decade of frustration in the field of psychiatric genetics, is identify the way genes interact with each other, how the 'orchestra' is either harmonious and leads to health, or disorganized in ways that lead to distinct classes of schizophrenia," Cloninger said. Researchers hope similar strategies can be used to parse through the genetic identifiers of other complex but common diseases and disorders, mental or otherwise. The study was published online this week in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Schizophrenia not a singular disease but a series of distinct disorders - UPI.com
