The study revealed ASD seemed to share a common root cause with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as other mental illnesses. Researchers used databases in Israel and Sweden to discover the two illnesses, schizophrenia and autism, had a genetic link. Researchers found that those who have schizophrenic sibling are 12 times more likely to have autism than those who have no schizophrenia in the family. The same results were found when they studied bipolar disorder and autism. The presence of bipolar disorder in a sibling showed a similar pattern like schizophrenia, but to a lesser degree. This study opens up further research on the genetic connection to mental illnesses. I think this could possibly change how physicians treat their patients with mental illnesses in the future. I look forward to further research on the subject matter since this could lead to clinical research as stated by Dr. Weiser. I also wonder if this will lead to an increase in genetic counseling for mental illnesses.
Friday, November 23, 2012
A Possible Link Between Schizophrenia and Autism?
Autism belongs to a category called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD and autism are general terms for a group of complex disorders of neural development. Most of the signs of autism emerge during the first 2 - 3 years of life. The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Management reports one in 88 children in the United States falls somewhere on the Autism spectrum. Researchers of Tel Aviv University discovered that family history of schizophrenia is a risk factor for autism. This study was conducted by Dr. Mark Weiser of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center. This study was also in collaboration with researchers at the University of North Carolina, Karolinska Institute in Sweden, Kings College London, and the Israeli Defense Force Medical Corps.
The study revealed ASD seemed to share a common root cause with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as other mental illnesses. Researchers used databases in Israel and Sweden to discover the two illnesses, schizophrenia and autism, had a genetic link. Researchers found that those who have schizophrenic sibling are 12 times more likely to have autism than those who have no schizophrenia in the family. The same results were found when they studied bipolar disorder and autism. The presence of bipolar disorder in a sibling showed a similar pattern like schizophrenia, but to a lesser degree. This study opens up further research on the genetic connection to mental illnesses. I think this could possibly change how physicians treat their patients with mental illnesses in the future. I look forward to further research on the subject matter since this could lead to clinical research as stated by Dr. Weiser. I also wonder if this will lead to an increase in genetic counseling for mental illnesses.
The study revealed ASD seemed to share a common root cause with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as other mental illnesses. Researchers used databases in Israel and Sweden to discover the two illnesses, schizophrenia and autism, had a genetic link. Researchers found that those who have schizophrenic sibling are 12 times more likely to have autism than those who have no schizophrenia in the family. The same results were found when they studied bipolar disorder and autism. The presence of bipolar disorder in a sibling showed a similar pattern like schizophrenia, but to a lesser degree. This study opens up further research on the genetic connection to mental illnesses. I think this could possibly change how physicians treat their patients with mental illnesses in the future. I look forward to further research on the subject matter since this could lead to clinical research as stated by Dr. Weiser. I also wonder if this will lead to an increase in genetic counseling for mental illnesses.
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[...] study can be found online in the journal Injury Prevention. Here is the link for more info:It is found that moderate parental monitoring and good coping skills are effective in preventing kid...of analysis of data provided by CDC’s Youth Violence Survey, which includes more than 4,000 teens, [...]
ReplyDeleteOther studies have shown that Nutritional Therapy has made a significant difference with autistic adults and children. Many cases have shown significant improvements to the point where autistic adults and children were no longer diagnosed with autism. Therefore, schizophrenia and autism might not necessarily be linked.
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