Mar 12, 2002

Two new studies have identified genetic activity that appears to be associated with schizophrenia. Both of the studies are published in the March 19th issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In the first study, Dr. Maria Karayiorgou of Rockefeller University in New York and colleagues identified two genes located in a region of chromosome 22--a section of DNA that has previously been linked to schizophrenia--that appeared to play a role in the disease.

The two genes are PRODH2, which encodes for a common brain enzyme, and DGCR6, a gene that is associated with nervous system development. Certain variations in the PRODH2 seemed to be more common in those with schizophrenia than in others, although the investigators could not rule out nearby DGCR6 as playing a role.

SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2002;99 3717