Study Finds Genetic Links to Common Mental Illnesses
Shared genes were found across several major mental disorders, expanding the understanding of genetic links to mental illness.
An analysis of major psychiatric disorders — including depression, anxiety, and others — published in Nature Genetics found that subsets of mental health disorders can be grouped by their shared genetic architecture. Researchers hope that the study’s findings will promote future treatments that alleviate multiple conditions at once.
A collaboration of multiple academic institutions analyzed publicly available genetic data and the associated genes of 11 different mental illnesses to conduct the study, finding that subsections of disorders shared a large amount of genetic similarity.
For disorders like anxiety and depression, researchers discovered a genetic architecture that associates the two conditions with genetics expressed in individuals with low movement throughout the day. Another instance from the study showed that 70% of the genetic signal associated with schizophrenia was also associated with bipolar disorder.
Andrew Grotzinger, PhD, is the lead author of the study and a genomic researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder. “People are more likely today to be prescribed multiple medications intended to treat multiple diagnoses and, in some instances, those medicines can have side effects,” Grotzinger mentioned in a press release. “By identifying what is shared across these issues, we can hopefully come up with ways to target them in a different manner that doesn’t require four separate pills or four separate psychotherapy interventions.”
This study represents one of many that have begun to assess the genes associated with certain mental illnesses. Recently a large-scale dementia analysis from the UK identified new genes associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
The genetic links discovered by Grotzinger and his team are also helpful in understanding the role that hereditary genetics can sometimes play in the development of mental disorders. So far, relevant research has been able to identify shared genetics in patients with major mental illnesses or conditions. Still, scientists are finding non-genetic environmental and biological factors that are just as prevalent.
As genetic testing and genomic research develop, the ability of researchers to pinpoint specific genes will improve. Currently, several major companies are approaching these concepts by initiating their own genomics programs.
For example, Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched a sequencing platform that can be used in laboratories and delivers test results in a single day. Pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, Pfizer, and BioMarin, to name a few, have also acquired their own gene therapy platforms that can be used to treat diseases.
In the near future, people suffering from mental illnesses and disorders may receive some form of gene therapy to treat their conditions.
