Washington: In a recent study, researchers have discovered 104 high-risk genes for schizophrenia, by using computational ‘framework’. The research supports the view that schizophrenia is a developmental disease, one which potentially can be detected and treated even before the onset of symptoms. “This framework opens the door for several (research) directions,” said the paper’s senior author, Bingshan Li.
One direction is to determine whether drugs already approved for other, unrelated diseases could be ‘repurposed’ to improve the treatment of schizophrenia. Another is to find in which cell types in the brain these genes are active along the development trajectory. Ultimately, Li said, “I think we will have a better understanding of how prenatally these genes predispose risk and that will give us a hint of how to potentially develop intervention strategies.
It’s an ambitious goal but by understanding the mechanism, drug development could be more targeted.” Symptoms usually start between the ages of 16 and 30. Antipsychotic medications can relieve symptoms but there is no cure for the disease. Genetics plays a major role. While schizophrenia occurs in one percent of the population, the risk rises sharply to 50 percent for a person whose identical twin has the disease.—ANI