New Delhi: UK researchers have discovered eight new genes associated with schizophrenia, an advance that will improve the understanding and future treatment development for the severe mental disorder. <\/p>\n
Schizophrenia significantly affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. It can cause a range of symptoms, including hallucinations, delusions, disorganised thinking, and changes in behaviour. <\/p>\n
In the breakthrough study, scientists at the Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG) at Cardiff University focused on detecting rare, high-impact mutations in protein-coding genes that are significantly more common in people with schizophrenia. <\/p>\n
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, identified two genes — STAG1 and ZNF136 — that were linked to schizophrenia with strong genetic evidence. <\/p>\n
An additional six genes — SLC6A1, KLC1, PCLO, ZMYND11, BSCL2, and CGREF — were also associated with more moderate evidence. <\/p>\n
The research found that SLC6A1 and KLC1 are the first schizophrenia risk genes to be linked solely through missense variants, a specific type of mutation that alters the amino-acid sequence of proteins. <\/p>\n
“These findings are informative because they suggest that schizophrenia might be linked to changes in how DNA is organised within cells, and also disruptions in how brain cells communicate using a chemical called GABA,\u201d said Sophie Chick, doctoral student at Cardiff University. <\/p>\n
“These results further our understanding of the complex neurobiology of schizophrenia and put us closer to the goal of advancing drug discovery and improving treatment,” Chick added. <\/p>\n
The international study analysed genetic data from 28,898 individuals with schizophrenia, 103,041 without the condition, and 3,444 families affected by the disorder. <\/p>\n
The research also strengthens the case for shared genetic roots between schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental conditions. <\/p>\n
Four of the newly identified genes — STAG1, SLC6A1, ZMYND11, and CGREF1 — have previously been associated with autism, epilepsy, and developmental delay. <\/p>\n
“Rare genetic variants have long been known to have a role in schizophrenia, but identifying specific genes linked to these mutations has been a major challenge,\u201d said lead author Dr. Elliott Rees, from Cardiff University School of Medicine. <\/p>\n
While translating these genetic discoveries into treatments remains a long-term goal, the results offer new hope for guiding drug development and targeted therapies in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Delhi: UK researchers have discovered eight new genes associated with schizophrenia, an advance that will improve the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89067,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[61073,36586,200,259,15297,3280,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-89066","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-cardiff-university","9":"tag-genetic-research","10":"tag-genetics","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-neurodevelopmental-disorders","13":"tag-schizophrenia","14":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}