Genomic study targets schizophrenia

An international study involving Irish scientists sheds new light on the biology underlying schizophrenia.

Researchers identified multiple genes and pathways that could kickstart new approaches to treatment.

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin played a role in identifying over 100 locations in the human genome associated with the risk of developing schizophrenia. The study, published in Nature, is the largest genomic study published on any psychiatric disorder to date. The findings could lead to new approaches to treating the disorder where there has been little innovation in drug development in more than 60 years.

Schizophrenia is a debilitating psychiatric disorder which affects approximately one-in-every-100 people in Ireland. It is characterised by hallucinations, delusions and impaired social function, often emerging in the teens and early 20s. Previous studies have revealed the complexity of the disease and evidence suggests it is caused by the combined effects of many genes. Around 20 genomic regions were found to be associated with the disorder and the study confirms those earlier findings and substantially expands understanding of the genetic basis of schizophrenia and its underlying biology.

The scientists examined over 80,000 genetic samples from schizophrenia patients and healthy volunteers, including over 3,500 Irish participants. They found 108 specific locations in the human genome associated with risk for schizophrenia. Eighty-three of those loci had not previously been linked to the disorder.

Now that we have more pieces of the puzzle, we are starting to group genes into identifiable pathways so that we can explore schizophrenia at a biological level, said Prof Aiden Corvin from TCDs School of Medicine, one of the studys lead authors.

Medications currently on the market only treat psychosis, one of the symptoms of schizophrenia and do not address the debilitating cognitive symptoms of the disorder.

Vitamin D

People who suffer from Vitamin D deficiency are twice as likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia as those with sufficient levels of the vitamin.

The Endocrine Societys Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism study found 65% of participants with schizophrenia were also Vitamin D deficient. More than a billion people worldwide have vitamin D deficiency due to limited sunshine exposure.

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Genomic study targets schizophrenia