October 31, 2006

Is There A Gene For Skepticism?

Because if there is, I've got it. Which is to say that yet another study is out in which yet another group of researchers claim that they have found yet another gene associated with schizophrenia. I am a big fan of brain research and of chasing down each and every gene associated with each and every mental illness. The trouble is that the media will splash these revelations around the world, as they have with this one, as if someone has just found the Rosetta Stone. I think this breeds false hope in patients and their families.

I've been seeing announcements of this sort for a decade or more. Gene X is the cause of bipolar disorder, Gene Y is directly linked to schizophrenia, and so on. Has anyone seen any of these genes become the pathway to a cure, much less a safe and effective treatment for patients? I haven't.

The sad fact is that scizophrenia treatments haven't advanced much in 50 years. If Gene Y were truly the genetic source of this nasty disease, it would still be 10 to 20 years before it'd lead to a handy capsule one could pop into one's mouth. In the meantime, we do need to find another way to grapple with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, as our current approaches simply are not working out too well.

So wake me when it's all over.

NOTE: Here's my standard disclaimer: No, I am not bashing researchers and arguing to forestall genetic research. I am a big fan of genetic research. Give the researchers all the money they say they need, and then double the amount. Seriously. But we do need to keep matters in a real-world perspective.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at October 31, 2006 07:55 AM
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Comments

I agree. There is not enough advancement in the care of this illness; esp considering it's been around quite some time. I am personally disgusted at the lack of advances taken to create a fine-tuned medication-therapy program to enhance the lives of mental health sufferers in general.
Once my daughter landed a bed at Children's hospital while completely psychotic, they came in with the entire genetics lab. Though it could feel comforting, (false hope)it was touted as "ruling out" everything possible to find that elusive reason, as to why she was psychotic.
Though med trialed 13 meds, genetics testing for every possible syndrome that came along with psychosis as a side note: no more answers than we had previous to all of that testing, head measuring and interviewing of family members.My head actually measures into a "reg flag area" for size of skull and mental health link.
The family all became paranoid for a day measuring our heads, and noting that one has a big head vs. another.
Served up a nice dose of skepticism, and false hope.
If we had found a gene amiss, or some genetic factor as to "why" my daughter or (myself and other kids for that matter)was/is the way she is:

Still need to treat it successfully.

That's the key to the box of elusive stability:

Get to the bottom of it and get on with better medications and real life ways to deal with mental illness.

I fear that I will not see it get better in my lifetime, and I used to hope for a cure by the time my daughter was 20. She is almost 19 now, and that hope just ran out.

The genetics doc was the most grounded of all docs I have met. She had a good dose of optimism all the while keeping my feet on the ground not wanting to bring false hope to the table, she always reminded me, if she found a genetic answer, my daughter was still who she was "presenting" as a case. Basically, there was not a lot of hope in the genetics tests, due to the fact that there are inadequate medications and treatment for her symtoms.

I was told by one doctor my daughter appeared to him as a "morph" of many things wrong.

Once you start entering the why's and how's and all of that you can lose your mind trying to figure it out. I hope researchers realize real people need real answers. Now. Not in the future.

Posted by: Stephany at October 31, 2006 10:44 AM

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