Schizophrenia linked with autoimmune disorders

The study, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, compared genetic variants in individuals with schizophrenia to individuals who do not have the disease. Sequencing revealed specific genetic variants in the CSF2RA and IL3RA genes associated with schizophrenia, which are in a cytokine receptor region. Cytokines are signaling compounds, which allow cells to communicate with each other and are particularly important in immune responses.

These results suggest that genetic variants in this region contribute to risk of developing schizophrenia and may ultimately contribute to a genetic diagnostic test that assesses this risk. Clinical Data’s unit PGxHealth has filed patent applications related to its findings and will consider commercializing the results with other interested parties whose focus is developing diagnostic tests for schizophrenia.

Dr Maria Athanasiou, vice president of PGxHealth, and co-author of the paper, said: “Although the heritability of schizophrenia is well-established, few susceptibility genes have been discovered, and this publication represents an important advance in our scientific understanding of schizophrenia and the potential for commercialization of novel diagnostics.”