Schizofrenia: genetica, prevenzione e riabilitazione Schizophrenia: genetics, prevention and rehabilitation
Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: Summary Objective Schizophrenia is a severe mental disor- der that compromises psychic activity, emotions, self-perception and social in- teractions and causes social impairment and disability. The lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia is approximately 1% in the general population and increases 5-10-fold in relatives of schizophrenic patients; the highest rate is reported in children of two schizophrenics, 50% of whom develop schizophrenia, and decreases in more distant relatives. Concordance rates for schizophrenia are 4-fold higher in monozygotic twin pairs (50-60%) than in dizygotic ones (10-15%), which reflects the propor- tion of shared genes in the two twin groups. Susceptibility genes for schizo- phrenia have been found on chromo- somes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 20, and 22. Neurocognitive functions such as attention and working memory are impaired in patients with schizo- phrenia and their relatives. Cognitive deficits are endophenotypes that con- fer susceptibility to schizophrenia and influence its outcome. Rehabilitation therapy reduces cognitive impairment and improves the outcome of schizo- phrenia. Environmental factors are also associated with the onset of schizo- phrenia, such as obstetric complica- tions which lead to perinatal hypoxia, viral infections (CMV; influenza virus), use of cannabis and psychostimulants, and stressful life-events. Environmen- tal factors contribute to the develop- ment of schizophrenia in individuals at increased genetic risk. This paper re- views schizophrenia endophenotypes and related genes to analyze the role of genetics in psychiatric rehabilitation; in addition, it discusses some genes that control sensitivity to environmental risk factors in individuals who develop schizophrenia, in order to develop new models for prevention. Methods
Institution: University of Bologna
Language: Italian
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2187931320