WASHINGTON - The largest genetic study of mental illnesses to
date finds five major disorders may not look much alike but they
share some gene-based risks. The surprising discovery comes in
the quest to unravel what causes psychiatric disorders and how
to better diagnose and treat them. The disorders — autism,
attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, bipolar
disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia — are
considered distinct problems. But findings published online
Wednesday suggest they're related in some way. "These disorders
that we thought of as quite different may not have such sharp
boundaries," said Dr. Jordan Smoller of Massachusetts General
Hospital, one of the lead researchers for the international
study appearing in The Lancet. That has implications for
learning how to diagnose mental illnesses with the same
precision that physical illnesses are diagnosed, said Dr. Bruce
Cuthbert of the National Institute on Mental Health, which
funded the research. Consider: Just because someon