黑料吃瓜群网

Researchers at the University of Queensland are at the forefront of a ground-breaking study that has found people susceptible to psychiatric disorders have genetic similarities.
The study, led by UQ鈥檚 Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) researchers Dr Sang Hong Lee and Associate Professor Naomi Wray, and Professor Kenneth Kendler from the Virginia Commonwealth University in the USA, includes a worldwide consortium of more than 300 medical researchers in more than 250 institutions. It is the first to demonstrate such a link in those with disorders including depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
鈥淲e studied the genetic information of more than 75,000 people, using a type of genetic variation called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs),鈥� Associate Professor Wray said. 鈥淎 SNP is one of the most common genetic changes and involves the replacement of a single unit that makes up our DNA with another. 鈥淯sing about a million SNPs measured on each person, we found evidence of increased genetic similarities between people with the same disorder. 鈥淲e also found significant similarities between people suffering from depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.鈥�
Associate Professor Wray said the study supported the hypothesis that mental illnesses could lie along a spectrum, possibly resulting from shared risk factors.
鈥淧sychiatric disorders account for about one-third of disability worldwide and cause enormous personal and societal burdens, affecting almost everyone, either directly or through friends and family,鈥� Associate Professor Wray said. 鈥淒espite the impact of these disorders, the underlying causes are mostly unknown. 鈥淢ajor depression has been a particularly complex challenge, partly because it is so common, but our results now provide clear guidance on what we need to do next to help unravel it,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e are now working toward generating a large body of information that will involve assessment of people with and without depression, to further identify genetic risk factors and differences in responses to treatment. 听鈥淯nderstanding these differences may contribute to personalising treatment options in the long term,鈥� she said.
Associate Professor Wray will work in collaboration with researchers from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, the University of Sydney Brain and Mind Research Institute, and the South Australia Medical and Health Research Institute to tease apart the genetics of depression.
鈥淥ur research is a long way from impacting those affected by psychiatric disorders in terms of diagnosis, prognosis or treatment, but we are glimpsing the potential that advances in genomic technology could have for our understanding of common mental illnesses,鈥� she said.
More information on the study can be found at: http://www.qbi.uq.edu.au/group-leader-wray. It is published听 in the latest issue of Nature Genetics.
听