Schizophrenia: A Mental Disease with a Physical Origin

      It has always seemed that mental illnesses have forever been classified as just that-- mental. Ailments such as depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disease have fallen into the mysterious category where treatment ranges from psychiatric evaluations to trial-and-error drug treatments to even electroshock therapy. Such a broad range/intensity of treatments is mostly indicative of the lack of understanding that medical professionals have concerning the derived characteristics of the brain.
      However, recent studies focusing on genetic differences between populations of Schizophrenic individuals and the genotypes of their healthy counterparts has indicated that one gene, DISC1, may be at least partially responsible for the symptoms of Schizophrenia. This gene is responsible for the Wnt signaling pathway that stimulates the generation of stem cells during embryonic development. A disruption of this gene leads to improper neural development and a lack/failure to maintain much of the grey matter in the brain. This gene also offers insight into some of the drug therapy which uses lithium to treat Schizophrenia; DISC1 controls the Wnt pathway by inhibiting Gsk3-beta, the same enzyme affected by lithium. Such insights into the affects of medicine may help contribute to better methods of treatment in the future. Furthermore, discoveries such as this help to end the stigma often surrounding mental diseases. Sufferers of psychiatric diseases are increasingly common in today's society, and should be properly recognized as victims of maladies comparable to diabetes, or the common cold. Perhaps this discovery will be the stepping stone that will provide them with the treatment that they need.