May 10, 2010 May 10, 2010 By analyzing the genomes of patients
with schizophrenia, genetics researchers have discovered
numerous copy number variations—deletions or duplications of DNA
sequences—that increase the risk of developing schizophrenia.
Significantly, many of these variations occur in genes that
affect signaling among brain cells. “When we compared the
genomes of patients with schizophrenia to those of healthy
subjects, we found variations in genes that regulate brain
functions, several of which are already known to be perturbed in
patients with this disorder,” said study leader Hakon
Hakonarson, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Applied Genomics
at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Although much
research remains to be done, detecting genes on specific
pathways is a first step to identifying more specific targets
for improved drug treatments.” The research appears in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published
online this week. A devastating psychiatric disorder that aff