The skin cells of four adults with schizophrenia have provided an unprecedented “window” into how the disease began while they were still in the womb, according to a recent paper in Schizophrenia Research.
The paper was published online in January by researchers at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo in collaboration with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. It provides what the authors call the first proof of concept for their hypothesis that a common genomic pathway lies at the root of schizophrenia.
The researchers say the work is a first step toward the design of treatments that could be administered to pregnant mothers at high risk for bearing a child with schizophrenia, potentially preventing the disease before it begins.
I was keeping an eye on this Mister Stachowiak, and his INFS theory, since he first published a related article back in 2014 or so. I even mailed him to ask for some clarification but he didn’t bother to reply.
Hopefully this new article represents a step forward and a starting point for targeted therapies which could eventually prevent the onset of schizophrenia in future generations.
Not entirely sure if it means anything for those of us who have already been diagnosed, though…
This is interesting but what about dozen of risk factors other than purely genetics and clearly identified : infection during pregnancy, etc…? Schizophrenia is multi-factorial and even if they could treat this key gene, other factors remain? May gene therapy be the ONLY magic solution?