>  Scientists Identify Gene Linked to
>  Schizophrenia

>  By Keith Mulvihill

>  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Scientists have discovered a variation in
>  a gene that appears to be associated with schizophrenia.

>  ``This is the first detailed mechanism describing how a specific
> alteration
>  in a specific gene called COMT affects brain function and thereby
>  increases risk for schizophrenia,'' lead author Dr. Michael F. Egan of
> the
>  National Institute of Mental Health told Reuters Health. The research is
>  published in the June 5th issue of the Proceedings of the National
>  Academy of Sciences (news - web sites).

>  Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder that alters a person's
> perceptions
>  of reality, emotions and thought processes. Symptoms of the disorder,
>  which affects about 1% of the world's population, typically surface
> during
>  the late {*filter*}s and 20s.

>  In the study, Egan and his colleagues evaluated the mental abilities of
> 175
>  patients with schizophrenia, 219 unaffected siblings and 55 healthy
>  individuals. All of the participants had their DNA analyzed for the
>  presence or absence of the gene variation. The normal version of the
>  COMT gene helps process dopamine, a brain chemical. The gene variant
>  is less active.

>  The researchers found that those with schizophrenia faired worse on a
>  test that evaluated their mental abilities and that this group was more
>  likely to have the variant COMT gene.

>  ``Our results show that schizophrenia is due, in part, to a gene that
> affects
>  the level of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex, the most highly evolved
> part
>  of the brain,'' Egan said.

>  The prefrontal cortex is responsible for judgment and abstract thinking.
>  Through its effects on dopamine levels, this gene seems to work by
>  varying the tuning of specific neurons. This tuning allows people to
>  concentrate better during certain types of mental operations, Egan
>  explained.

>  The variant version of the gene slightly reduces this mental ability and
> also
>  produces an increase in the risk of developing schizophrenia, most likely
>  because it impairs this type of thinking. Thus, by altering prefrontal
>  dopamine levels and consequently the tuning of prefrontal neurons, this
>  gene slightly impairs mental function and thereby increases risk of
>  schizophrenia, Egan noted.

>  ``Finding genes for illnesses like schizophrenia is very difficult,''
> Egan
>  stressed.

>  ``We used a new approach to help us find this gene. While most studies
>  compare subjects based on whether they have schizophrenia, we added
>  several measures of prefrontal function,'' he said.

>  ``We've found that abnormalities in prefrontal function are related to
>  genetic risk for schizophrenia,'' Egan added.

>  ``These measures of prefrontal function guided us to COMT and showed
>  us how COMT worked to increase risk for schizophrenia,'' Egan said.

>  ``Probably the most important and direct implication of this finding is
> that
>  currently available medications that inhibit COMT may improve cognition
>  and, perhaps reduce illness severity in patients with one or two copies
> of
>  this gene,'' Egan told Reuters Health.

>  ``We hope to test this medication as soon as possible with a new study we
>  are about to begin,'' he added.

>  SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
>  2001;98:6917-6922.

> because i don't understand it, but mainly because if it
> is possible to related a gene to an aspect of behaviour and
> consciousness like mental illness, then they should be able
> to understand NOT only how mental illness works, but how
> mental illness can be corrected.

> > because i don't understand it, but mainly because if it
> > is possible to related a gene to an aspect of behaviour and
> > consciousness like mental illness, then they should be able
> > to understand NOT only how mental illness works, but how
> > mental illness can be corrected.

> To a large extent schizophrenia *is* understood and is very treatable with
> medications.  The unfortunate thing about schizophrenia is that individuals
> who are stable on their medications often think that they no longer need
> them and stop taking them, plunging themselves right back into the public
> expression of the disease.

> There is a great deal of research into various mental health disorders that
> are uncovering genetic and/or physical causes.  Many forms of depression are
> now known to be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, remedied by
> medications in many situations.  It is now clear that ADD/H is caused by an
> abnormality in the brain that can be detected with appropriate testing.  I
> vaguely remember reading about similar work with Bipolar Disorder.

> Other conditions can be linked to events in the person's life.  The classic
> example is PTSD.  Reactive Attachment Disorder is another frequently
> reported condition which has a clear event cause in the life of the
> individual.  Both conditions can be treated, but not in twenty minutes at
> the doctor's office nor with a Band-Aid.

> Science often, in all areas of medicine, moves first into finding the root
> cause of a condition, then works on developing the treatments.  Expect to
> see more work in identifying potential physical causes in other mental
> illnesses followed by work to find more efficacious treatments.

> -Aula

> for the examples; i should be humble in this as i do not
> work in the area closely enough to make informed criticism;
> i have some general ideas - for example, how important it
> must be to detect the exogenous, percipitating cause of
> some changes in brain states, which are similar or idistinguishable
> from say, clinical depression.  An example would be battle fatigue,
> or natural disaster shock, grief, etc.

> Also, i wish to point out a pet {*filter*} of mine in
> psychiatry and that is that not enough seems to be done
> in the area of endocrinological disorders for affective
> states.  Going directly to the brain may be putting the horse
> before the buggie (is that the expression, sorry i'm Greek).