LSUHSC research helps link schizophrenia to specific ...( New Orleans LA For the first time a...)

New Orleans, LA For the first time, an international group of researchers has found genetic evidence linking schizophrenia to a specific region of DNA on chromosome 6. This is the same area where key genes for immune function are located. The LSUHSC research team was led by Nancy Buccola, APRN, PMH CNS-BC, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, who also coordinated the ten clinical sites. The work, Common variants on chromosome 6p22.1 are associated with schizophrenia, along with two related papers, is published in the July 1, 2009 issue of the journal Nature.

The researchers recruited study participants, people with diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, plus controls from the general population. They analyzed data collected and also conducted a meta-analysis of data from the Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia, International Schizophrenia Consortium and SGENE data sets thousands of DNA samples.

While a single gene does not appear to be the source of the development of schizophrenia, the researchers found variations on chromosome 6 that appear to be associated with higher risk. These variations were found most often in people with schizophrenia, leading the scientists to believe that these common variations contribute to the development of schizophrenia. This area of chromosome 6, in the same area where genes important to the immune system function, provokes questions about whether or not treatments for autoimmune disorders might also be helpful in treating schizophrenia.

"Schizophrenia can be a devastating disease, and while treatments are improving, there are still people who do not respond or only partially respond," notes Buccola, principal investigator on the LSUHSC study. "Understanding the underpinnings of this illness will open doors to new and potentially better treatments."

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, schizophrenia is a chronic, sev
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