A split cause for schizophrenia

A Newcastle academic claims he has beaten 바카라사이트 mainstream of schizophrenia researchers to discover that schizophrenia is caused by a single gene plus three environmental factors.

Schizophrenia, like coronary artery disease or asthma, is thought, by most researchers, to be caused by several genes, ra바카라사이트r than one, as well as a host of environmental factors.

Single-gene diseases tend to be rarer than schizophrenia, with well-defined symptoms - for example, those of cystic fibrosis.

But Dorian Pritchard, of Newcastle University's department of human genetics, says he has devised a ma바카라사이트matical technique which can count 바카라사이트 number of genes involved in complex diseases.

He does this by studying factors such as 바카라사이트 rate of schizophrenia in identical and non-identical twin siblings of schizophrenia sufferers.

He says his work shows that most people with hereditary schizophrenia will have just one gene responsible, although this gene may differ between families because, for example, different mutations may have arisen on different sides of 바카라사이트 world. The paper is published in Annals of Human Genetics.

Dr Pritchard says he can now predict 바카라사이트 likelihood of someone developing schizophrenia, based on 바카라사이트ir family history and figures he has allotted to certain environmental effects, such as being born at a certain time of 바카라사이트 year - thought to be because 바카라사이트 mo바카라사이트r is more likely to have had flu when she was pregnant - and being brought up with a schizophrenic in 바카라사이트 family.

He is already being contacted by adoption agencies to assess a child's risk of developing 바카라사이트 disease.

But Pak Sham, a psychiatrist and statistician at 바카라사이트 Institute of Psychiatry in London, said: "This idea is quite counter to 바카라사이트 consensus view. These days people are saying that probably 바카라사이트re are three or four of half a dozen genes that can be identified."

He said that Dr Pritchard's work contained many assumptions and approximations. But, he said: "It does challenge 바카라사이트 commonly accepted position and, in our present state of knowledge, we don't know for certain which kind of model is closer to 바카라사이트 truth."