In a recent study published in Nature Genetics, researchers conducted a genome-wide analysis in 38,180 Chinese individuals and identified 30 new genetic variants associated with susceptibility for schizophrenia, including a subset of genomic variants unique to the Chinese population. Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects cognition and behavior. Functional analysis of the regions of the genome that may be linked to schizophrenia revealed a possible connection between insulin signaling and schizophrenia, suggesting that individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia may have a higher prevalence of metabolic disorders. These findings provide valuable insight about the disease mechanisms of schizophrenia.
The summary of the research article shared by GenomeWeb is available (here). Full details of the study conducted by Li Z et al. can be found in Nature Genetics 49, 1576–1583 (2017); doi:10.1038/ng.3973. PMID: 28991256
