14 DAY TRIAL // An international group of researchers, investigating the connections between schizophrenia and DNA, identified the first clear tie, on chromosome 6. This is the same location that holds key genes for the immune function, which means that the disease must be influencing the expression of defense agents in the immune system in some way. Details of the new paper, entitled “Common variants on chromosome 6p22.1 are associated with schizophrenia,” are published, alongside two other studies on the same theme, in the July 1st issue of the respected scientific journal Nature.
The team of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSU-HSC) researchers was led by expert Nancy Buccola, APRN, PMH CNS-BC, and assistant professor of clinical nursing. For the experiments, the scientists selected a large number of participants with diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders, as well as many control subjects, selected from the general population. In total, thousands of DNA samples were analyzed in the investigation, which also relied on meta-analysis of data from the Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia, International Schizophrenia Consortium and SGENE.
The study was not able to identify a single gene that was irrevocably associated with the onset of schizophrenia, but determined that a complex of variations could be linked with a higher risk of developing the mental condition. According to the team, these changes were identified predominantly in people who had already been diagnosed with the disease, which means that these rather common variations may be one of the main factors associated with the onset of schizophrenia.
“Schizophrenia can be a devastating disease, and while treatments are improving, there are still people who do not respond or only partially respond. Understanding the underpinnings of this illness will open doors to new and potentially better treatments,” Buccola, who has also been the principal investigator for the new research effort, explains. “Scientists have been looking for schizophrenia susceptibility genes since the early 1900s. This study shows that these genes can be found and sets the stage for future research,” she adds.
The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression and the National Institute of Mental Health contributed most of the funding required for this investigation. Other researchers include Margaret Baier, MD, and LSU-HSC assistant professor of clinical psychiatry, as well as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Erich Conrad, MD, also at the university.