Johns Hopkins Researchers Discover Link Between Two Biological Risk Factors for Schizophrenia

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say they have found a cause-and-effect relationship between two well-established biological risk factors for schizophrenia that previously were thought to be independent of one another. The findings could lead to the development of better drugs for the treatment of the cognitive dysfunction associated with schizophrenia and possibly other mental illnesses.

Researchers have long studied the role played in the brain’s neurons by the Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) gene — a mutation with one of the strongest links to an increased risk of developing the psychiatric illness. For more information, click here to read the full release.