Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Institute and the University of North Carolina, USA have long hypothesized that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused during pregnancy. They thus came to the conclusion that the combination of a high genetic risk and serious complications during pregnancy increases the probability of developing schizophrenia fivefold compared to those who have just a high genetic risk. And as they continued their research, scientists discovered that certain genes in the placenta appeared to be key to whether or not you developed future risk for schizophrenia.
Recent genetic studies have shown that many genes thought to be risk factors for schizophrenia are abundantly expressed in the brain before birth, suggesting that life in utero is important. The study shows that genes predictive of schizophrenia risk when activated in the placenta are particularly activated if the pregnancy is complicated, for example by conditions such as pre-eclampsia or intrauterine growth restriction.
“By identifying specific genes activated in the placenta that appear to be unique for schizophrenia risk, we focused on a set of biological processes that could be targeted to improve placental health and reduce schizophrenia risk,” said Dr. Daniel Weinberger, lead author of the study published by the US National Academy of Sciences. “This is further evidence that early life is important in schizophrenia and that the placenta plays a more important role than we imagined.”
Source :
- Placental genomic risk scores and early neurodevelopmental outcomesFebruary 16, 2021, PNAS
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