Schizofrenia, major depression and bipolar disorder share genetic risk factors

The Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, from which are members researchers of the Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions group at Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), have published a study that concludes that psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, major depression and bipolar disorder share genetic risk factors and variations associated with the immune system. The study has been published this week in Nature Neuroscience.

Researchers carried out a genome-wide association study to analyze the genetic profile from over 60,000 participants from the different countries of the consortium. Once they compared the results, they discovered that the three adult psychiatric disorders implicate neuronal, immune and histone pathways.

According to Dr. Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga, VHIR researcher who has participated in the study, “the knowledge of the molecular pathways involved in these diseases will enable the development of more specific therapeutic targets”. Nowadays, the etiology of these diseases is largely unknown, there is a lack of biomarkers, and the diagnosis is based exclusively in clinical symptoms.

VHIR researchers provided data about the attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), because the study also compared the genetic profiles of people with other psychiatric disorders.