In collaboration with colleagues from across Europe, researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Denmark have found mutations in the human genome that lead to an increased risk of developing schizophrenia.
This discovery brings about a new understanding of the interplay between genes and the environment, i.e. why some individuals with specific genetic variations in, for example, the immune system are sensitive to a number of environmental factors (e.g. infections) when it comes to developing schizophrenia. The findings have just been published in the reputed scientific journal, Nature.
50,000 Patients Involved
It is the most extensive study of schizophrenia ever, in which over 50,000 patients and control subjects from fourteen countries in Europe have been examined. The study showed a correlation between congenital mutations within three different genome areas.
"The study has made it clear that schizophrenia is not a single or small set of ailments, but rather an extensive and varied group of conditions, which may occur for completely different reasons, and which may have myriad ways of expressing themselves," says Thomas Werge, Head of Research at the Sct. Hans Mental Health Centre, at Copenhagen's University Hospital.
Genetic studies and findings pave the way for an examination of complex illnesses such as schizophrenia, whereby we can gain insight into the biology of the illness, and accordingly develop drugs that target the causes and not just the symptoms.
Mutations Affect the Immune System