July 22, 2014

expert reaction to study outlining genetic risk factors in schizophrenia

Results of the largest genome-wide association study of schizophrenia ever conducted were published in Nature this week, identifying more than 100 genetic variants associated with the condition.

Dr Gerome Breen, Senior Lecturer and Lead of the Translational Genomics Group, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, said:

“This is perhaps the most important study in psychiatric genetics to date. It shows that persistence and very large sample sizes can yield extreme success in finding the genetic basis of the disorder. The biology of the hits is extremely interesting and includes several pathways which we already understand well and where drugs exist to target them in other disorders. This study has the potential to revolutionise functional studies and to speed up the development of badly needed new treatments. The authors include most of the schizophrenia genetics community, all of whom are to be congratulated on this astonishing work.”

Prof Sir Robin Murray, Professor of Psychiatric Research, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, said:

“For many years, the architecture of the known genetic contribution to schizophrenia eluded us.  Now this huge collaborative effort has demonstrated that lots of genes of small effect contribute to this liability. This should open the door to measuring the extent of predisposition, and to understanding which particular pathways are involved. Ultimately this may help to split up the syndrome of schizophrenia and break it down into different conditions which respond to different treatments.”

Prof Til Wykes, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, said:

“Genetic studies in such a variable disorder as schizophrenia have generally led to contradictory results so it is heartening that this study is beginning to show some internal consistency of potential genetic associations. But more importantly what this study really shows is that the science required to develop new treatments can have no boundaries and requires collaboration across studies, research group and continents. This study covered 208 institutions in 30 countries and these are not just the usual ones – UK, USA, Russia and China but all of Europe including Estonia, Bulgaria and Hungary. In a world today with all its conflicts the ability of scientists to continue to work for the greater good is heartening.”

‘Biological insights from 108 schizophrenia-associated genetic loci’ by Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium published in Nature on Tuesday 22nd July.

Declared interests

Dr Gerome Breen: I am not on the paper, although I will be working with the authors on the functional and pathway/drug analyses in a future paper.

Prof Sir Robin Murray is a co-author on the paper.

Prof Til Wykes: None declared