Specific Genetic Variant Linked To Schizophrenia In Women

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Main Category: Schizophrenia
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Genetics
Article Date: 18 Feb 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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A genetic variant in the Reelin gene increases the chances of developing schizophrenia in women but not in men. At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Oxford, researchers conducted a study of this issue in the Ashkenzi Jewish population. They confirmed their findings through a global collaboration including populations and scientists from the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, and China. This study was published in the February issue of the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, a part of the Public Library of Science.

Schizophrenia affects approximately 1 percent of the human population and is characterized by an impaired comprehension or expression of reality. The genetic predisposition to schizophrenia has been well established in previous research. But, Endeavors to identify the genes actually associated with the disease have encountered numerous impediments. Now, technological advances allow full genomic scanning, opening new possibilities for investigation.

500,000 genetic variants across the whole human genome were examined, using DNA from patients with schizophrenia and control subjects. By comparing the genomes of the two groups, researchers identified one gene that is associated with an increased risk of developing the disease. Notably, the gene is only found in women.

This study marks an important step in the study of schizophrenia that could have strong ramifications in disease diagnosis and drug discovery. Even so, it is important to note that years of additional research are necessary, and even then, success in this direction cannot be guaranteed.

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Genome-wide association identifies a common variant in the Reelin gene that increases the risk of schizophrenia only in women.
Shifman S, Johannesson M, Bronstein M, Chen SX, Collier DA, et al.
PLoS Genet 4(2): e28. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.0040028
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Written by Anna Sophia McKenney
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