Schizophrenia Is Not a Single Disease

An anonymous reader writes: New research from Washington University has found that the condition known as schizophrenia is not just a single disease, but instead a collection of eight different disorders. For years, researchers struggled to understand the genetic basis of schizophrenia. This new method was able to isolate and identify the different conditions (each with its own symptoms) currently classified under the same heading (abstract, full text). "In some patients with hallucinations or delusions, for example, the researchers matched distinct genetic features to patients' symptoms, demonstrating that specific genetic variations interacted to create a 95 percent certainty of schizophrenia. In another group, they found that disorganized speech and behavior were specifically associated with a set of DNA variations that carried a 100 percent risk of schizophrenia." According to one of the study's authors, "By identifying groups of genetic variations and matching them to symptoms in individual patients, it soon may be possible to target treatments to specific pathways that cause problems."

Comments

Does this mean genetic testing can daignose it?

[mikeabbott420]

It might be very valuable for treatment if the condition didn't come as a mystery and a surprise. It also raises the question of testing in the early stages of fetal development and abortion being used by "carrier" couples to select for lower risk children. I honestly have no idea of what the ethical choices are there but I would lean towards multiple tries if it meant bringing a child to term that doesn't have such a high probability of suffering in its future.