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Researchers Identify New Genes Linked With Schizophrenia Risk in First-of-Its-Kind Study

Researchers have made an important discovery about the causes of schizophrenia, a disease related to dementia or fragmented mentality.   Researchers have identified two genes associated with the disease as well as a third gene that carries the risk of schizophrenia and autism. Scientists involved in this research believes, this discovery can go a long way in finding a cure for these kind of diseases. Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine found that these harmful genes are almost the same in every ethnic or racial group. The findings of this research were published in Nature Genetics . According to an estimate, about one percent of people worldwide suffering from schizophrenia. The scientists identified two risky genes, SRRM2 and AKAP11, based on a comparative analysis of gene sequencing from individuals with schizophrenia and healthy individuals. It compared a dataset of 35,828 patients with schizophrenia to 107,877 healthy or control groups and included a variety of
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The Causes of Memory Loss Due to Breast Cancer Were Revealed

It is not enough to get rid of cancer. Cancer, and chemotherapy used for its treatment have long-term side effects. Even after getting cured of this disease, patients have to face many types of health related problems. Scientists are trying to find solutions to minimize the side effects of chemotherapy or systems used to treat cancer.

One such problem is the loss of memory in patients after recovery from breast cancer. Scientists are trying to find out the reasons for this. Researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have succeeded in this matter. According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the relation between memory loss or decline in inflammation during treatment has been found.

According to the findings of this research, cancer patients who have recovered from breast cancer, whose memory is impaired, have higher levels of inflammatory Marker-C Reactive Protein (CRP). Judith Carroll, lead author of the research and associate professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA, said that the blood test for CRP is usually used to check for heart disease, but our study says that in people who have recovered from breast cancer, may also be an indicator of risk of cognitive problems.

According to the researchers, the study, titled Thinking and Living with Cancer (TLC), is the first long-term study of chronic inflammation and cognitive impairment in cancer survivors aged 60 or older. About 4 million people who have recovered from breast cancer were included in this study. The long-term effects of CRP were not taken seriously because earlier studies focused on young patients recovering from breast cancer.

In the TLC study, researchers collected blood samples across the country from people who had recovered from breast cancer and also from women who had not had breast cancer. Comparative study of cognitive problems was done between these two classes. Study co-author and professor of oncology at Georgetown University, John Mandelblatt, said cognitive problems affected women's daily lives after cancer treatment, and that difficulty remembering or recalling was the strongest indicator of the study.

Elizabeth C. Breen, another researcher involved in this study, said that the investigation of inflammation and cognitive status was given at a time, so the biological interaction involved in it could be better understood. The patients' cognitive abilities were assessed through a questionnaire to find out what types of things women who had been cured of breast cancer remembered. Higher levels of CRP emerged as a predictive modulus of cognitive function impairment.

But the relationship of CRP levels with cognitive ability was not clear in women who had not had cancer. Researchers say more study is needed to see whether levels of inflammatory markers can be reduced by increasing physical activity, sleeping well, or taking anti-inflammatory medicines.
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