New genetic risk factor for schizophrenia identified

Written by Alice Weatherston

A small study at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (NY, USA) has revealed that microRNAs may be underexpressed in the brains of schizophrenia patients. The findings, which were published recently in Cell Reports, highlight another potential risk factor for the disease. The research team, led by Kristen Brennand and Gang Fang (both Icahn School of Medicine), pioneered a new methodological approach in order to avoid the problems associated with investigating schizophrenia through the use of often hard-to-come-by live brain tissue. Researchers collected skin samples from each of the patients, reprogrammed the cells to form induced pluripotent stem...

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