Gene Sequencing Not Relevant for Schizophrenia

A new gene sequencing study finds no genetic variants to be significant predictors of schizophrenia.

Peter Simons
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Researchers investigated whether sequencing the exome (a particular set of genetic information) could provide clinically relevant information for schizophrenia diagnoses. Exome sequencing has some diagnostic utility in certain disorders that are thought to be due to a single gene—unlike schizophrenia, the cause of which is unknown. The researchers found that exome sequencing provided no clinically relevant data.

“The main conclusion of this investigation is a negative one,” they write. “The diagnostic yield for exome sequencing of known neuropsychiatric genes in this sample is about 1%.”

By comparison, the researchers note that the diagnostic value of gene sequencing for severe developmental disorders is around 40%.

Thivia Balakrishna and David Curtis conducted the research at the UCL Genetics Institute, University College London. It was published in Schizophrenia Bulletin.

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A study from last year found similar results, concluding that the predictive value for schizophrenia, after sequencing the entire genome, was a mere 2.28%. Another study reported by Mad in America found a predictive value of 3.4%. Nonetheless, genetic tests are being marketed toward mental health professionals, with poor utility and sometimes dangerous results.

In the current study, the researchers used exome-sequencing data from 591 trios consisting of people with a schizophrenia diagnosis and their parents. Five of the parents also had a schizophrenia diagnosis.

The researchers found approximately the same number of problematic genetic variances in people with and people without the schizophrenia diagnosis. That included variants that the parents had, which were not passed down to their children, and variants that the children had that were not shared by their parents.

None of the variants were identified as clinically significant predictors of schizophrenia, according to the researchers.

“There were more than 400 disruptive and damaging variants in the target genes in cases, but similar numbers were seen among untransmitted parental alleles, and none appeared to be clinically significant.”

These variants were genetic mutations—which are common—but none have been linked to schizophrenia. All people have some benign genetic variants, and that information alone does not help predict a diagnosis.

The researchers suggest that if future studies identify specific genes that might be implicated in schizophrenia, their results could change. For now, they write,

“It is not the case that a disruptive or damaging variant in a gene known to have a neuropsychiatric phenotype should be viewed as likely to be pathogenic when seen in a patient with schizophrenia and hence the diagnostic yield from exome sequencing is currently low.”

 

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Balakrishna, T., & Curtis, D. (2020). Assessment of potential clinical role for exome sequencing in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 46(2), 328-335. (Link)

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13 COMMENTS

  1. “Exome sequencing has some diagnostic utility in certain disorders that are thought to be due to a single gene—unlike schizophrenia, the cause of which is unknown.”

    But we do know that the “schizophrenia” treatments, the neuroleptics/antipsychotics, can create both the negative and positive symptoms of “schizophrenia.” The negative symptoms can be created via neuroleptic induced deficit syndrome. And the positive symptoms of “schizophrenia,” like psychosis and hallucinations, can be created via antipsychotic induced anticholinergic toxidrome.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroleptic-induced_deficit_syndrome
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxidrome

    And when the treatments can create the symptoms of a disorder, like “schizophrenia,” which has no medical test that can be used to prove the existence of the disease. Let’s be realistic, it’s highly likely that the “treatment,” is likely the primary cause of the symptoms of that medically unproven “disorder.”

  2. Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg in a video at time index 03:18 of 04:10 schizophrenia is about to be found in the genome . LOL. What are they going to do when it can not be found?

    Fictional word of psychotic is used in the video. People are mistaken, people are stupid, people are angry.

    They are never going to admit schizophrenia doesn’t exist as a disease. Behaviour is not a disease. “In psychiatry, we use one set of laws to explain sane behaviour, which we attribute to reasons (choices), and another set of laws to explain insane behaviour, which we attribute to causes (diseases).” Szasz

    https://www.thedoctorstv.com/videos/downsides-to-genetic-screening-traits-unborn-babies

    • Finding “schizophrenia” in the genome is such a joke at this point. They have to go to lists of hundreds of “markers” to get even 1-2% correlations, when the correlations between what they call “schizophrenia” and environmental stress are in the 80+% range consistently. It is such an obviously self-serving process that assumes the conclusion before doing the work, it is laughable to even consider it in the realm of science. It is more of a religious faith, and as we all know, you can’t use logic to counter religious faith. They operate on completely different rules. Which would’t bother me quite as much if they weren’t pretending to be scientists!

  8. I’m pursuing the reasons a bit further, in order to stop the violations of people that the psy target forcibly for human research and attempt to play the old eugenics rhetoric of ‘diseased gene’ theory. It is outrageous that the psy want to forcibly use genetic testing on people whom the psy forcibly inject with drugs that mess with adenosine levels – to find out what happens when they do that.

    Enough. Stop forcibly experimenting with people.

    The psy and their colleagues need to be researched more, in order to point out their crimes within a network of medico researchers profiting from this. Is there a way of finding out if the psy have been illegally testing DNA for experiments already on the people they ‘s’ label for the cruellest most intrusive forced experiments? Is there a way of finding out if people with the psy ‘s’ label have their DNA ‘anonymously’ being sent to cloud data labs where tests go a bit further on the ‘anonymous subject matter’ via electromagnetic interference? Perhaps a track and trace, or induction-wire based experiments on the chemicals injected in via satellite? Perhaps a track and trace on their DNA sequence? Lemming-like experiments to see how far people injected with certain drugs can be controlled in their daily life and monitored? Can they be induced to do certain activities? Can they be induced to buy certain products? Simple things that are lucrative for people that buy into the EMI for marketing.

    The research that isn’t the psy cover-up paper full of psychobabble to condemn the victim of the forced human experimentation – which one do you think this gene sequencing points to? With the neuroleptics it’s other papers on process of glycolysis and adenosine the biological ‘energy currency’, the evaluation of structure-activity relationships such as metabolic trapping (mostly), then there’s the secondary research to do with damage to organs and treatments for that. And there’s – what of injectable polymer hydrogels, bio tissue synthesis for IoT sensors? Relapse of aligners and its prevention – satellite track and tracing objects as small as 30 cm?

    All the wonderous ways people can be violently exploited for invasive cruel research and told if they attempt to speak out against it, that they’re dis… subjected matter for a forced psy order.

    Focus then – Legally and politically what is the best way forward to stop these horrible experiments on people? There is no excuse for forced human experimentation of this vile cruel nature. No excuse for this outrageous interference on human lives.

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