A root cause of schizophrenia may have finally been found, two left wings - same brain.

[Dr. Obama]

Scientists at the Broad Institute say they're finally cracking
open the root causes of schizophrenia. Until now, the biology
behind the disease has been hard to pin down.

Earlier research had shown that the brain cells of people with
schizophrenia have fewer connections than the brain cells of
people without the disease.

Scientists also knew the immune system played a role, and that
symptoms don't usually appear until patients are in their teens
or 20s.

But to truly understand and eventually treat the disease,
scientists needed some underlying cause that tied those three
findings together. And now they have it.

It's a gene behind C4, a protein that plays a role in telling
the immune system what to attack.

It also plays a part in a process humans undergo in their teens
and 20s called synaptic pruning. It's when unused connections in
our brain cells get snipped. Too much C4 can send that process
into overdrive.

The Broad Institute isn't shying away from grand proclamations
about the discovery.

"This will turn out to be the most important break in the
disease," the institute's director Eric Lander said.

But in a lot of ways, it's just a first step. It means
researchers can finally start exploring new treatment options,
new screening techniques and maybe eventually find a cure. But
it's going to be a while before any of those things are
available to the public.

http://www.ajc.com/news/lifestyles/health/root-cause-
schizophrenia-may-have-finally-been-fou/nqDkQ/