For all of the money, energy and focus that has gone into gene studies on schizophrenia, two findings this week call into question much of that effort.
The first one has been widely reported yesterday, Parasite May Lead to Schizophrenia. The parasite? Good ‘ole toxoplasma gondii, a common organism carried by carried by cats and farm animals. In most cases, the parasite is harmless (except for pregnant women, who have long been taught to avoid handling cat litter when pregnant).
But in the latest study, researchers found that 7 percent of people with schizophrenia had this parasite, compared to only 5 percent in people who were not diagnosed with schizophrenia. That puts someone who has this parasite at a 24% increased risk of also getting schizophrenia.
The second study, not yet widely disseminated, found no significant association of 14 candidate genes with schizophrenia. What does this mean? I’ll let the authors speak for themselves:
It is unlikely that common SNPs in these genes account for a substantial proportion of the genetic risk for schizophrenia, although small effects cannot be ruled out.
These 14 genes studied by the researchers do not account for a substantial proportion of the genetic risk for schizophrenia.
This includes many genes previously indicated and believed to have a significant influence on causing schizophrenia. This was a large scale population study (unlike many gene studies), and so its results are fairly robust.
It doesn’t mean genes aren’t a contributing factor to schizophrenia (I’m sure they likely are). Only that, as we’ve noted all along, genes are likely only one tiny part of a complex causative picture for this mental disorder. Third-party factors, like a parasite, seem to also have significant risk impact on the development of schizophrenia.
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6 Comments to
“The Cause of Schizophrenia Remains Unclear”
If my genetically identical twin has schizophrenia then it is more likely than not that I won’t have schizophrenia (48% chance).
Of course if my genetically identical twin has schizophrenia then I’m more likely to have it than people whose genetically identical twins don’t have schizophrenia. But a 48% chance of concordance shows that genetic explanations aren’t terribly robust. Of course they might be about the most robust thing we have at present (More robust than any neurophysiological finding?). But I’m not terribly optimistic…
The other thing is… What is the inter-rater reliability for a diagnosis of schizophrenia these days? If clinician’s can’t even agree on who does and who doesn’t have it, then how can we even hope to find out what they (whatever that is) all have in common?
Stayed tuned for Copy Number Variation.
Alexandra, you are quite right after all, when people argue over something they agree or disagree about, how can we hope to find something they have in common?? Why not just set aside our opinions and look at each individual schizophrenic and study what they do and compare their symptoms?
you are exactly right rose!
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 18 Jan 2008
