A multi-stage genome-wide association study has identified 13 novel loci linked to schizophrenia risk, bringing the total number of loci associated with the disease to 22.
In Nature Genetics, author Patrick Sullivan and his colleagues report that they first examined loci in 5,000 cases and some 6,250 control from Sweden and then performed a meta-analysis involving 8,832 cases and 12,067 controls before replicating a number of the SNPs they found in independent case and control samples and in parent-child trios.
These findings, the researchers note, implicate a number of candidate genes, including ones involved in neuronal calcium signaling and the microRNA-137 pathway.
"Now we need to concentrate our research very urgently on these two pathways in our quest to understand what causes this disabling mental illness," Sullivan says in a statement.
GenomeWeb Daily News has more on this study here.