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Post by Admin on Apr 18, 2016 16:46:39 GMT -4
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Post by Clifford Thomas on Apr 18, 2016 17:51:43 GMT -4
A good read, and something all schizophrenics should be aware of; the fact they have a chance to pass their disorder to their child. It would seem almost unethical to allow known schizophrenics or those with schizophrenia in their family history to have children without prior understanding of the risks involved, and the hardships that their children could experience. It seems like an obvious choice to adopt rather than gamble with a child's life. I was unaware of hyperactive microglia causing excess synaptic pruning being a biological mechanism proposed for the development of schizophrenia.
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Post by VG on Apr 18, 2016 23:14:57 GMT -4
I learned a few things that I did not know about Schizophrenia, stuff you cannot find in Kaplan notes or study material for Step 2. For the past 4 weeks I have seen many patient with depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar and schizophrenia walk in and out of the office and one thing that stood out to me was most of the schizophrenic patient were accompanied by a family member. Reading this article it clarified why, as stated in the article there is an underlying cause that no medication has target thus far. It was interesting to learn that there is an immunological association with Schizophrenia. Our own microglia cells are responsible for over pruning synapse that is needed for cognitive function due to the increase of C4A gene. Knowing this information I would like to see what the future holds for the treatment of Schizophrenia. Knowing its genetic component doctors will soon be able to target the “bad” gene and treat patient before they start having symptoms. I wonder is it better to stop something before it started, it might seem like nothing short of a miracle to eliminate the affected gene causing the problem, but what will be preserved when this happen. If this gene has been a part of our genome for generation maybe schizophrenia is the upside, only time will tell.
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Post by joshuaestep on Apr 19, 2016 10:04:23 GMT -4
One thing that really stuck out to me in this article is the theme of the author's father being in a state of denial concerning his brother's schizophrenia. I worked with a Huntington's patient who's children had abandoned her and refused to be tested for the disease or acknowledge their mother's condition. When it comes to genetic diseases that can manifest in mental illness it seems like denial as a coping mechanism can be just as harmful as the disease itself.
Another interesting point the article brings to my mind are the ethics of having children if you know there's a good chance you will pass a debilitating disease on to them. Is that, in some ways, cruel and selfish? Is it another instance of being in a state of denial about your health that could potentially impact your children?
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Post by RB on Apr 19, 2016 11:57:43 GMT -4
I really enjoyed reading this article on schizophrenia. It was an interesting fact to find out the genetic linkage of the disease. Many people suffer with schizophrenia and even with treatment their life is changed forever. They have to depend on others on a daily basis just as the Author’s father did in regards to many of his brother and nephew. With the discovery of the genetic component it will be life changing for the patient with schizophrenia by introduction of better/more efficient medication and possible testing for their children. I did not realize there was also an immune component to schizophrenia that our microglia cells plays a part in the disease.
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Post by Kelsey G. on Apr 19, 2016 16:47:21 GMT -4
This article interestingly tied together a family story and newly discovered information. It has always been a question in my mind whether behavioral disorders are linked to specific genes. It appears here that after years of research a link has been found to the C4 gene, specifically C4A that was found in increased levels among schizophrenia patients. This increase in C4A was found to decrease the number of synapses in the brain, which would make sense as schizophrenia symptoms are generally seen in the 2nd and 3rd decades of life. It would be interesting to see these levels compared among family members with schizophrenia.
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Post by Chanakya.B on Apr 19, 2016 20:54:27 GMT -4
The article shows how the author discovered the connection between genes and schizophrenia. He has shown how his life and family has changed due to the genetic disease. His father and family became the fundamental connection that hold his feelings and his curiosity about schizophrenia together. The article does great justice to the people who researched and discovered the connection between the C4A gene and the disease. It also showed that the author questions the probability of a good treatment since its the same gene that give people there personality; it also starts,stops and sometimes erroneously proliferates during the crucial years of childhood development where everything is changing. The author had written an amazing article showing his personal thoughts and new found information about a genetic disorder. It keeps me thinking how many other disease are related to specific crucial genes that could change a human life forever.
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Post by Gagan Dhatt on Apr 19, 2016 21:39:01 GMT -4
This article sums up the feelings most elder generations of Indians have towards diseases of the mind. Family members afflicted with such disorders are intentionally kept away from society as they are considered to bring shame onto their families. I strongly believe the world needs to become more educated about ways to help affected individuals instead of hiding them away from society. After reading this article, I learned that the C4 gene is linked to Schizophrenia. In particular, C4A gene was found to be more abundant in brains of schizophrenic patients as oppose to normal brains. It will be interesting to see if and how the C4 gene can be regulated and what effect this will have on the brain as a whole. If regulation of C4 gene is able to eliminate such a debilitating disease it will be nothing short of a miracle. However, if this is successful the pharmaceutical companies will definitely be in for a loss!
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Post by Vincent Fang on Apr 20, 2016 9:56:35 GMT -4
An interesting article to read. Great to know that a genetic component of Schizophrenia has been indicated in medical history. Schizophrenia is a debilitating illness and even back then families knew how patients with schizophrenia would need that extra support to care for them. This genetic discovery for microglia and C4A gene would be a motivational push for pharmaceuticals and geneticists to advance in medical research to come up with a possible cure or early prevention for the development of Schizophrenia. In the future, medical treatments would be more customized and targeted towards genetic therapy, and this information would definitely benefit many patients. If the identified genes are able to be shut down or redirected, the prevention of Schizophrenia might be possible.
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Post by Adil Humayun on Apr 20, 2016 10:32:50 GMT -4
Two huge issues about schizophrenia and mental health in general this article highlights are social perception of mental health issues and the struggle of treating disease we have very little knowledge and understanding of relative to non-psychiatric illnesses. This is further exemplified by presenting the cultural setting of India, where the culture has a deep seeded lack of understanding or acceptance of mental health. Non-physical illnesses are not seen as real to many in the culture still, with reform slowly taking root. Though this still seems to be an issue in the US as well. The lack of understanding despite research and lack of overt, easy to pin point physical causes for many illnesses make many form close minded opinions and judgements about the diseases and those it affects. This definitely does not help when trying to find research and get better insight into disease processes. When people don't take it seriously, it stops becoming a priority.
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Post by Stephen Fuselli on Apr 20, 2016 11:47:15 GMT -4
A surprisingly intriguing article on Schizophrenia. It does a good job in showcasing the contrast of how the disease was handled by previous generations that were unaware/uneducated about a disease that is detrimental to not only the patient but also to those surrounding him/her. I am curious to see how medical science will use this discovery on the increase of the C4A gene and its relationship to microglial selection of neuronal synapses and Schizophrenic patients. I believe that even with this new discovery that it will take some time before there is any real progress before we are able to manipulate this to our advantage; however, I can see a potential new genetic curiosity in future genetic testing/selection in years to come. I look forward to research to come.
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Post by Joseph Tosto on Apr 20, 2016 12:05:55 GMT -4
I found this article to be very interesting and informative. I believe it is a break through for medicine and people who have schizophrenia. All known schizophrenics should be aware of this new study and should understand that their disease can be passed on to their children. Schizophrenia affects a persons life greatly, both personally and financially. Therefore, I believe that everyone suffering from this diagnosis should make a reasonable decision when deciding to have a child and thus be prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. I learned something new from this article that I have not found in any of my text books so far. I knew that monozygotic twins had an increase chance of schizophrenia but have never read that there was a known biological reason for passing it on to children. Hyperactive microglia due to a C4A gene mutation can cause excess synaptic pruning and this can lead to the genetic cause of schizophrenia. Knowing one of the possible immunological causes of schizophrenia is a great start to fighting and containing this disease. It will be interesting to watch for medical advancement as far as medications and gene alterations in the future knowing that there is a gene out there that is causing schizophrenia.
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Post by Sachin Chatta on Apr 20, 2016 12:42:19 GMT -4
This article was very interesting to read. Having family members in India I could relate to this article and how people in India are less likely to accept any mental health related diseases. Many people in India are afraid to hear or are unwilling to understand any disease that is related to the mental health. However, many people do not realize that Schizophrenia has a genetic component to it. Not only does it affect the person but it will also affect the future generation. This article also shows that how Schizophrenia research has improved tremendously from the early 1900's to the early 2000. Obviously Schizophrenia is a disease that we do not have a cure for but with new research such as the C4A gene shows us a promising future. Hopefully in the future the patients would not need to be depended on family members or care takers and would be able to have a normal life.
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Post by Rita J on Apr 20, 2016 13:44:03 GMT -4
I agree with the article that schizophrenia is genetically linked. I am happy that the father by the end of the article made some peace with the illness, and that he called it a flaw that cannot be separated from self. I found it interesting reading about MHC class C4A gene, which activates the complement pathway and how it is unconnected to cognition, planning and thinking. I see how there could be a correlation between the C4A gene and schizophrenia because these are the functions that are mostly impaired in schizophrenia patients. The article states the reason for diagnosis of schizophrenia in the early adulthood is because of the climax of synaptic pruning happening mostly around adolescent and early adulthood. But that made me wonder if there is a difference between childhood schizophrenia and adulthood, especially if there is a different gene involved. I am not sure if if is one single gene that leads to schizophrenia or multiple things, but I hope in the future there will be more treatment available.
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Post by Laura Hoppe on Apr 20, 2016 15:26:39 GMT -4
It was an absolute privilege to read about an individuals first hand experience with mental illness. It is eye opening to read the account through the cultural/professional perspective of being Bengali and a physician. Although in America mental illness is still taboo, it is fascinating to witness how an Indian family handled (or didn't handle) the illness that plagued their family. I found it enlightening when the idea was proposed about whether the math puzzzle caused the brother/uncles mania or if the mania is what assisted in solving the several page problem. Most often as elaborated in this article scientists and clinicians dont know what causes or triggers for the disease at hand. We know bits and pieces of the schizophrenic puzzle, but still dont know how these pieces lock together. Perhaps a little bit of "madness" is the key to brilliance, however as stated in the article we have no control and little understanding over that issue. Sometimes the brilliance and the madness come together unfortunately.
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