Washington, Nov. 13 -- : Researchers have long searched for genetic influences in schizophrenia, a neurodevelopmental disorder that disrupts brain activity producing hallucinations, delusions, and other cognitive disturbances. However, the disease's genetic mutations have been identified in only a small fraction fewer than a quarter of sequenced patients. A new study shows that 'somatic' gene mutations in brain cells could account for some neuropathology diseases.
The study, led by senior author Jeong Ho Lee, MD, PhD, at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the team of Stanley Medical Research Institute, appears in Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier.
Traditional genetic mutations, called germline mutations, occ...