Do you at times feel that you are living in an illusion or in an imaginary world of your own making, if the answer is yes then it can be a matter of concern. Yes, you may be suffering from a psychiatric disorder called schizophrenia.What is schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a Greek word which means 'split mind'. Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that describes a mental disorder in a person. Some patients with schizophrenia live in a kind of imaginary world or delusional state. Their views are different from the real world. Many people think of this disease as split personality whereas it is a different type of disorder. These people are not able to express their feelings properly. They lose their interest in life and they become very emotional about anything.
Symptoms of Schizophrenia-
Symptoms of this disease usually appear in adolescence and 20 years of age. Isolating yourself from friends and family, changing friends or social groups, inability to focus on anything, sleep problems, irritability, problems in studies are its main symptoms.The discovery of a new gene hopes to diagnose schizophrenia
Researchers in Germany and the UK have discovered a gene mutation that gives information about a person's risk of developing schizophrenia and its causes.
Two international teams of researchers have discovered gene mutations that they say affect a person's chances of developing the disease. There may be 120 other gene mutations that may play a role in the disease. This fundamental research will not immediately benefit existing patients, but the researchers believe it will help improve treatment.
We know very little about schizophrenia, close to zero, says Stefan Ripke, a researcher at the Charity Medical College in Berlin and co-author of one of the two papers published in the science journal Nature. He said the discovery of gene mutations could help predict a person's risk of schizophrenia and better treat the disease with medication.
Currently, there are many drugs available in the market for the treatment of schizophrenia, but they do not eliminate the underlying problems of the disease. The drugs currently being used only reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia, they do not cure the disease.
The scientists analyzed the DNA of 2,44,000 normal people and 77,000 people with schizophrenia. During this time they found that 300 parts of the genome are associated with a genetic risk of schizophrenia. Within those parts, they discovered 120 genes that may play a role in causing mental disorders.
10 rare mutations detected
The second study was conducted by the Schema team made up of researchers from MIT's Broad Institute and Harvard University. They detected 10 rare mutations in genes that increase people's risk of schizophrenia. Additionally, 22 more genes were discovered that may play a role in developing schizophrenia. Let us tell you that the World Health Organization estimates that 1 out of every 300 people in the world are affected by schizophrenia.