Genetic link to depression, schizophrenia confirmed

A genetic association with severe psychiatric disorders could lead to advancements in antipsychotic treatments.

University of Wollongong researcher Dr Natalie Matosin. Picture: UOW

Scientists have confirmed a genetic link for severe psychiatric disorders including depression and schizophrenia, which could lead to the development of new drug treatments.

The international team, led by a University of Wollongong researcher, studied more than 1000 human brains donated to science by people who had lived with mental illness.

The study, published in Acta Neuropathologica, confirmed what has long been suggested through animal and blood sample studies: that people with mental illness had elevated levels of the FKBP5 gene directly in the brain.

The FKBP5 gene and its associated protein – which is key to how all humans deal with stress – was higher in those with depression and bipolar disorder, but it was particularly strong for people with schizophrenia.

Normally, when FKBP5 levels reach a certain level, the stress response is turned off. But people with mental illness have difficulty turning off this stress response.

Natalie Matosin, head of UOW’s Mental Illness and Disorders of Stress Lab, said that through microscopes and cutting edge molecular techniques, the researchers found the “specific cell type in which FKBP5 is most affected”.

An international team of scientists, led by University of Wollongong (UOW) researcher Dr Natalie Matosin (pictured), has confirmed a genetic association with severe psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, which may change the face of therapeutic care. Picture: UOW

The researchers think FKBP5 may cause some disruption of cognition which means these findings could also help treat “debilitating” cognitive symptoms of psychiatric disorders including the ability to learn, remember, reason, process information and pay attention.