The world does not know much about the disease called schizophrenia. Experts say that we don’t really know what goes on inside one’s mind. The world simply knows that schizophrenia is a serious mental illness. The person suffering from this disease does not understand the difference between imaginary and real things. He hears voices that don’t really exist.
The World Health Organization estimates that one in three hundred people in the world is affected by schizophrenia. Stefan Ripke, a researcher at the Charity Medical College in Berlin and co-author of one of the two articles published in the science journal Nature, says we know little, no, about schizophrenia.
Two international teams of researchers have discovered gene mutations that they say affect a person’s chances of developing the disease. There may be about 120 other gene mutations that may play a role in the disease. This fundamental research will not immediately benefit existing patients, but the researchers believe it will help improve treatment.
The first of two genetic studies has been done by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium – PGC of Cardiff University, UK. They examined the whole genome to look for specific genetic variations that put people at risk for schizophrenia. This particular genetic variation increases a person’s risk of developing schizophrenia.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that due to the increase of the corona virus epidemic in South Asian countries, it is affecting the mental health of children living here. UNICEF says that such a crisis has never been seen before. The scientists analyzed the DNA of 2,44,000 normal people and 77,000 people with schizophrenia.
During this time they found that 300 parts of the genome are associated with a genetic risk of schizophrenia. Within those parts, they discovered 120 genes that may play a role in causing mental disorders. The second study was carried out by the Schema team made up of researchers from MIT’s Broad Institute and Harvard University. They detected 10 rare mutations in genes that increase people’s risk of schizophrenia.
Additionally, 22 more genes were discovered that may play a role in developing schizophrenia. Benjamin Neale, co-author of the schema and a member of the PGC, said, “In general, the probability of developing schizophrenia in a person over the course of his life is about one percent.” But if you have one of these mutations, your chances increase to 10, 20, and even 50 percent.
Symptoms of schizophrenia usually appear in a person in adolescence. Previous research has found that parenting, substance abuse, or a mother’s diet during pregnancy can increase the risk of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is 60 to 80 percent genetic. This also applies to some other mental diseases. Ripke says that schizophrenia cannot be researched on animals, because they cannot share their feelings with researchers. Research on humans is intertwined with ethical questions on biological research.