Schizophrenia is inherited. How is schizophrenia transmitted: is there a hereditary gene? Is schizophrenia hereditary or not?

The true reasons have not yet been identified. Science knows many theories about the factors influencing the occurrence of this disease, trigger mechanisms and predispositions. But scientific world has not yet confirmed these theories with 100% probability.

So, the most common theories of the origin of schizophrenia are:

• Genetic theory. The essence of the theory is that it is inherited. As evidence for this theory, facts are used that in families where parents suffer from schizophrenia, the disease appears more often than in others. Purely genetic theory is refuted by the fact of the disease of people in whose families there were no cases of schizophrenia.
• Dopamine theory. It is known that mental activity human is dependent on the interaction and production of serotonin, dopamine, melatonin. It is scientifically known that in schizophrenia there is an increase in stimulation of dopamine receptors. In contrast to this theory, the fact is stated that an increase in dopamine can cause delirium and, but this does not in any way affect the will and emotions, and therefore cannot cause schizophrenia.
• Constitutional theory. She argues that the emergence and development of schizophrenia is influenced by the psychophysiological characteristics of a person.
• Infection theory. At present this theory has virtually no evidence base and is viewed more from a historical point of view than from a practical one.
• Neurogenetic theory. Science determines the situation of mismatch between the activities of the legal and left hemispheres, due to a defect corpus callosum, which leads to the onset of the disease schizophrenia.
• Psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalysis allows us to identify the peculiarities of upbringing in families of patients with schizophrenia. As a rule, in such families there is a lack of warm emotional relationships or an extreme contrast in the reactions of adults to the same actions of children.
• Ecological theory. It is possible that the idea that poor ecology and lack of nutrition of the pregnant mother has a detrimental effect on the development of the fetus, causing a tendency to a number of diseases, and in particular, schizophrenia.
• Evolutionary theory. High human intelligence has long been considered the norm, and not something outstanding, which is determined by the development of society as a whole. As intelligence increases, the characteristics of the brain change, and the likelihood of schizophrenia increases.

It is generally accepted that schizophrenia, like many other mental illnesses, is caused by a combination hereditary factors and circumstances external environment- human life. And yet, everyone is tormented by the question of whether schizophrenia can be inherited.

The figure of 1% very eloquently characterizes schizophrenia. It affects 1 person out of 100. Absolutely every person has a risk of developing schizophrenia.

However, according to statistics, if your first-degree relatives had cases of schizophrenia, then the risk of this disease for you personally increases to 10%. If one of the second-degree relatives (nephews, uncles, grandmothers, etc.) has schizophrenia, then the risk of the disease is determined from 2 to 6%. Most high risk schizophrenia, if the disease is diagnosed in an identical twin. Scientists estimate it to be up to 40%.

And yet in the statistics given we're talking about not about the hereditary transmission of the disease, but about the risk. A special structure of metabolic brain processes is inherited. It is the metabolic processes in the brain, under certain conditions, that cause splitting, defined as schizophrenia.

The schizophrenia gene is periodically “found” different groups research scientists, but repeated and subsequent studies do not confirm these theories. Human genes are found on 23 pairs of chromosomes. By inheritance, a person receives 2 copies of each chromosome: from mom and from dad. Several genes are associated with risk for the disease, but none directly causes schizophrenia. Therefore, based on genetic analysis It is impossible to predict the likelihood of a person developing schizophrenia.

This means that the schizophrenia gene does not exist or has not been found at present. However, it cannot be said that schizophrenia is not associated with heredity. With a combination of components such as heredity and unfavorable environmental factors, the risk of schizophrenia increases several times.

Unfavorable factors are: viral diseases, trauma during childbirth, poor nutrition mothers during pregnancy, psychotraumatic factors.

For the appearance of schizophrenia, in addition to the initial characteristics, so-called triggering mechanisms are needed.

Such mechanisms could be:

• drugs;
• alcohol;
• stressful situations;
• psychological trauma;
• unfavorable environmental conditions.

Schizophrenia can appear at any age, depending on the conditions for the appearance of the triggering mechanism, but most often occurs during crisis periods: senior preschool, junior school, adolescence, youth, midlife crisis, retirement. As we can see, the listed age periods associated with critical characteristics.

To predict the likelihood of a person having the disease, you need to pay attention to the age at which schizophrenia appeared in relatives. It is possible that the same periods of disease development are observed.

Is schizophrenia transmitted through the male line?

Everything described above, including the triggering mechanisms and genetics of the disease, applies equally to both men and women, without prioritizing any of the sexes.

However, there is an opinion that schizophrenia is transmitted by male line. What is this theory based on?

1. Genetic predisposition to the disease is equally transmitted through both male and female female line. However, the manifestation of schizophrenia in men is usually brighter and more noticeable than in women. Therefore, men with schizophrenia are more visible to their relatives than women. Therefore, the risk of the disease is associated specifically with the male line.
2. The triggering mechanisms are a number of factors, including alcohol and drugs. Statistics show that alcoholism is still considered a to a greater extent a male problem, although the percentage of male alcoholics and drug addicts is slightly higher compared to women. It is this reason that shows more cases of schizophrenia among the male population.
3. Stress and mental complications during periods of age-related crises are experienced more deeply and strongly by men. Provided that the risk of schizophrenia is genetically determined, the initiation of these mechanisms is most likely in men.
4. Raising boys is often tougher than raising girls. Parents do not allow the manifestation of gentleness, which has an impact emotional development child.

It is no secret that the health of the population, and especially men, is getting worse. Medical statistics indicate an increase in schizophrenia and its rejuvenation.

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that is accompanied by affective behavior, impaired perception, thinking problems and unstable reactions are manifested nervous system. It is extremely important to understand that schizophrenia is not dementia, but a mental disorder, a gap in the stability and integrity of consciousness, which leads to impaired thinking. People with schizophrenia are often unable to fully social life, have problems with adaptation and when communicating with people around them. One of the reasons why the disease progresses and develops is heredity.

Heredity

Neurobiology is developing more and more every year, and it is this science that can answer the question that interests many: is schizophrenia inherited or not?

Scientists have delved deeper into the problem of finding a connection between relatives and a child with schizophrenia, but the reliability of the results is quite low due to taking into account other genetic factors, as well as environmental influences. There are no unequivocal statements that the transmission of schizophrenia by inheritance has every reason. Just as it is unreliable to say that all people suffering from this disease acquired the disease solely due to brain injuries.

The chief physician of the clinic answers the question

Is schizophrenia inherited from the father?

If a girl becomes pregnant from a man who suffers from schizophrenia, then the following scenario is possible: the father will pass on the abnormal chromosome to all daughters who will be carriers. The father will pass on all healthy chromosomes to his sons, who will be absolutely healthy and will not pass the gene on to their offspring. Pregnancy can have four development options if the mother is a carrier: a girl will be born without the disease, healthy boy, carrier girl or schizophrenic boy. Accordingly, the risk is 25% and the disease can be transmitted to every fourth child. Girls can inherit the disease extremely rarely: if the mother is a carrier and the father has schizophrenia. Without these conditions, the chance that the disease will be transmitted is very small.

Heredity alone cannot influence the development of the disease, since this is influenced by a whole range of factors: from a psychological point of view, biological, environmental stress and genetics. For example, if a person inherited schizophrenia from his father, this does not mean that the probability of manifestation is 100%, since other factors play a decisive role. A direct connection has not been proven by scientists, but there are documented studies that show that twins whose mother or father has schizophrenia have a higher predisposition to developing a mental illness. But the disease of the parents will manifest itself in the offspring only with the simultaneous influence of factors that adversely affect the child, but are favorable for the progress of the disease.

Is schizophrenia inherited from the mother?

Researchers tend to believe that disposition can be transmitted not only in the form of schizophrenia, but also other mental disorders, which can give impetus to the progress of schizophrenia. Gene studies have shown that schizophrenia is inherited from the mother or father due to mutations, which are mostly random.

The mother of a child can pass on a tendency to the disease during pregnancy. The embryo in the womb is sensitive to infectious diseases colds mother. The fetus is highly likely to develop schizophrenia if it survives such an illness. Presumably, the time of year can also affect the disease: most often, schizophrenia is confirmed when diagnosed in children born in the spring and winter, when the mother’s body is most weakened and influenza is more common.

Is there a risk of heredity

• There is a 46% chance that a child will get sick if the grandparents had schizophrenia, or one of the parents.
• 48%, provided that one of the fraternal twins is sick.
• 6% if one close relative is sick.
• only 2% - uncles and aunts, as well as cousins, are sick.

Signs of schizophrenia

Research can identify potentially mutating genes, or the lack thereof. It is these genes that are the first reason that can increase the chance of the disease. There are approximately three types of symptoms by which psychiatrists can determine whether a person is sick:

• Disorders of attention, thinking, and perception are cognitive.
• Manifestations in the form of hallucinations, delusional thoughts that are presented as genius.
• Apathy, complete absence desire to do anything, lack of motivation and will.

Schizophrenics do not have a clear organization and coherence of speech and thinking; the patient may think that he hears voices that are not in reality. Difficulties arise in social life and communication with other people. The illness is accompanied by a loss of all interest in life and events, and sometimes severe agitation may appear, or the schizophrenic may freeze for a long time in an unusual and unnatural position. Signs can be so ambiguous that they must be observed for at least a month.

Treatment

If the disease has already manifested itself, then you need to know the measures that are recommended to be taken so that the situation does not worsen and the disease does not progress very quickly. While there is no specific one medicine that can cure schizophrenia once and for all, the symptoms can be reduced, thereby making life easier for the patient and his relatives. There are several methods:

Medicines.

The patient is prescribed drugs - antipsychotics, which can change biological processes for some time. At the same time, medications are used to stabilize mood, and the patient’s behavior is corrected. It is worth remembering that no matter how effective the drugs are, the greater the risk of complications.

Psychotherapy. Often, the psychotherapist’s methods can muffle usually inappropriate behavior; during sessions, the patient learns a life routine so that the person understands how society works and it is easier for him to adapt and socialize.

Therapy. There are enough methods for treating schizophrenia with therapy. This treatment requires the approach of only experienced psychiatrists.

conclusions So, Is schizophrenia inherited?

? Having understood, you can understand that only a tendency to disease is inherited, and if you or your loved one is sick and worried about your offspring, then there is a very high chance that the child will be born healthy and will not have problems with this disease throughout his life . It is important to know your family's medical history and see a specialist if you want to have a baby.

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People suffering from mental illnesses and disorders are not uncommon. Inadequate thinking processes, incoherent thoughts, hallucinations are frequent companions of such diseases.

This problem is still relevant today. One of the most common is schizophrenia. A disease that equally affects both males and females. Women - in a later age category and to a less severe degree. At least 1% of the world's inhabitants suffer from the disease. The disease also affects children. And it’s no wonder that many people directly related to this type of disorder are concerned with the question: is schizophrenia inherited?

Young people getting married, one of whom suffers from the disorder, and their relatives and friends turn to psychiatrists for answers, hoping to dispel their doubts about the possibility of manifestations of schizophrenia in their expected offspring.

At various forums, both among interested parties, their environment, and among medical specialists, the problem is being raised - schizophrenia: is it inherited?

Many sources on mental disorders highlight several causes of this disease.

The data from numerous studies in the field of schizophrenia are mixed. The mechanisms are currently being extensively studied of this disease. Conducted diagnostic studies sick, and of different categories, different versions are put forward, symptoms are interpreted, conclusions are drawn. The results of most studies still confirm the fact that schizophrenia is inherited. The number of children affected in families with parents suffering from the disorder is quite significant and can be, according to some trials, up to 20%. The risk of diseases is most likely in children, as well as adults, in families where their parents, siblings and brothers, that is, direct relatives, are sick. The risk of morbidity among twins is very high. This cannot be ignored by researchers and confirms the fact high degree hereditary cause of this disorder. However, some tests conducted, nevertheless, cast doubt on this factor, motivating their conclusions by the fact that a large number of people get sick without having among their relatives those affected by this disease. Not long ago, researchers from (United States of America) expressed their doubts and made assumptions in this area.

IN Lately researchers who have asked and are interested in the problem: “is schizophrenia inherited or not” are more inclined to the influence of the environment, including those suffering from this disease, on the development of the disease in a person. Pointing out in his tests the importance of the environment in which the person suffering from the disease grew up, and the degree to which he was raised by a sick relative.

However, no clear conclusions have been made to date to deny the heredity factor in the development of the disease. This does not allow us to fully refute the theory that schizophrenia is inherited.

Schizophrenia occurs over a fairly long period of time, developing from mild to more severe stages. The changes occurring in the psyche are constantly progressing, as a result of which patients can completely lose any connection with the outside world.

This is a chronic disease that leads to a complete disorder of mental functions and perception, but it is a mistake to believe that schizophrenia causes dementia, since the patient’s intelligence, as a rule, is not only preserved high level, but can be much higher than that healthy people. In the same way, memory functions do not suffer; the senses work normally. The problem is that the cerebral cortex does not process incoming information correctly.

Causes

Schizophrenia is inherited - is this true, is this statement worth believing? Are schizophrenia and heredity somehow related? These questions are very relevant in our time. This disease affects about 1.5% of the inhabitants of our planet. There is, of course, a possibility that this pathology can be transmitted from parents to children, but it is extremely small. There is a much greater chance that the child will be born completely healthy.

Moreover, quite often this mental disorder occurs in initially healthy people, in whose family no one has ever had schizophrenia, that is, they do not have a genetic tendency to this disease. In these cases, schizophrenia and heredity are in no way connected, and the development of the disease can be caused by:

• brain injuries - both birth and postpartum;
• serious emotional trauma suffered at an early age;
• environmental factors;
• severe shocks and stress;
• alcohol and drug addiction;
• anomalies of intrauterine development;
• social isolation of the individual.

The causes of this disease themselves are divided into:

• biological (viral infectious diseases suffered by the mother during the process of bearing a child; similar diseases suffered by the child in early childhood; genetic and immune factors; toxic damage by certain substances);
• psychological (until the manifestation of the disease, a person is closed, immersed in his inner world, has difficulty communicating with others, is prone to lengthy reasoning, has difficulty trying to formulate a thought, is different hypersensitivity to stressful situations, sloppy, passive, stubborn and suspicious, pathologically vulnerable);
• social (urbanization, stress, characteristics of family relationships).

The connection between schizophrenia and heredity

Currently, quite a lot of different studies have been conducted that can confirm the theory that heredity and schizophrenia are closely related concepts. It is safe to say that the likelihood of this mental disorder occurring in children is quite high in the following cases:

• detection of schizophrenia in one of the identical twins (49%);
• diagnosis of the disease in one of the parents or both representatives of the older generation (47%);
• detection of pathology in one of the fraternal twins (17%);
• detection of schizophrenia in one of the parents and at the same time in someone from the older generation (12%);
• detection of the disease in an older brother or sister (9%);
• detection of the disease in one of the parents (6%);
• diagnosing schizophrenia in a nephew or niece (4%);
• manifestations of the disease in aunts, uncles, as well as cousins or sisters (2%).

Thus, we can come to the conclusion that schizophrenia is not necessarily inherited, and the chance of giving birth healthy child big enough.

When planning a pregnancy, you should consult a geneticist.

Diagnostic methods

When we talk about genetic diseases, we most often mean illnesses caused by the influence of one specific gene, which is not so difficult to identify, as well as to determine whether it can be transmitted to a future child during the process of conception. If it comes to schizophrenia, then everything is not so simple, since this pathology is transmitted through several different genes at once. Moreover, for each patient, the number of mutated genes is different, as is their variety. The risk of developing schizophrenia directly depends on the number of defective genes.

Under no circumstances should you trust assumptions that hereditary disease transmitted strictly through generations or only through the male or female line. This is all just guesswork. To date, no researcher knows which gene determines the presence of schizophrenia.

So, hereditary schizophrenia arises as a result of the mutual influence of a group of genes on each other, which develop in a special way and cause a predisposition to the disease.

It is not at all necessary that psychosis will develop, even if defective chromosomes are present in large quantities. Whether a person gets sick or not is influenced by both the quality of his life and his characteristics. environment. Schizophrenia, inherited, is primarily an innate predisposition to the development of mental disorders that can arise under the influence of various factors due to physiological, psychological and biological reasons.

Schizopherenia and hereditary theory

Schizophrenia is a hereditary disease of endogenous nature, which is characterized by a number of negative and positive symptoms and progressive personality changes. From this definition It is clear that pathology is inherited and occurs over a long period of time, passing through certain stages of its development. Its negative symptoms include the patient’s pre-existing signs that “fall out” from the spectrum of his mental activity. Positive symptoms are new signs, which may include, for example, hallucinations or delusional disorders.

It is worth noting that there are no significant differences between ordinary and hereditary schizophrenia. IN the latter case clinical picture is less pronounced. Patients experience disturbances in perception, speech and thinking; as the disease progresses, outbursts of aggression may occur as a reaction to the most minor stimuli. As a rule, a disease that is inherited is more difficult to treat.

In general, the issue of the heredity of mental illness is quite acute today. As for such a pathology as schizophrenia, heredity really plays a key role here. History knows of cases when there were entire “crazy” families. It is not surprising that people whose relatives have been diagnosed with schizophrenia are tormented by the question of whether the disease is inherited or not. It should be emphasized here that, according to many scientists, people who do not have a genetic predisposition to the disease, under certain unfavorable circumstances, have no less risk of developing schizophrenia than those in whose families there have already been episodes of pathology.

Features of genetic mutations

Since hereditary schizophrenia is one of the most common mental illnesses, a lot of research has been carried out scientific research aimed at studying potential mutations caused by the absence or, conversely, the presence of specific mutation genes. It is believed that they increase the risk of developing the disease. However, it was also found that these genes are local, which suggests that the available statistics cannot claim to be 100% accurate.

Most genetic diseases are characterized by a very simple type of inheritance: there is one “wrong” gene, which is either inherited by descendants or not. Other diseases have several such genes. As for a pathology such as schizophrenia, there is no exact data on the mechanism of its development, but there are studies whose results indicated that seventy-four genes may be involved in its occurrence.

Scheme of hereditary transmission of the disease

In one of the latest studies on this topic, scientists studied the genomes of several thousand patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. The main difficulty in conducting this experiment was that the patients had different sets of genes, but most of the defective genes actually had some general features, and their functions related to the regulation of the development process and subsequent brain activity. Thus, the more such “wrong” genes are present in a particular person, the higher the likelihood that he will develop mental illness.

Such a low reliability of the results obtained can be associated with the problems of taking into account many genetic factors, as well as environmental factors that have a certain impact on patients. We can only say that if the disease schizophrenia is inherited, it is in its most rudimentary state, being simply an innate predisposition to mental disorder. Whether the disease will occur in a particular person in the future or not will depend on many other factors, in particular psychological, stress, biological, etc.

Statistics data

Despite the fact that there is no conclusive evidence that schizophrenia is a genetically determined disease, there is some information that allows us to confirm the existing hypothesis. If a person without “bad” heredity has a risk of getting sick of approximately 1%, then if there is a genetic predisposition, these numbers increase:

• up to 2% if schizophrenia is found in an uncle or aunt, cousin or sister;
• up to 5% if the disease is detected in one of the parents or grandparents;
• up to 6% if a half-sibling is sick and up to 9% for siblings;
• up to 12% if the disease is diagnosed in one of the parents and in a grandparent;
• up to 18% is the risk of the disease for fraternal twins, while for identical twins this figure rises to 46%;
• Also, 46% is the risk of developing the disease in the case when one of the parents is sick, as well as both of his parents, that is, both grandparents.

Despite these indicators, it should be remembered that not only genetic, but also many other factors influence mental condition person. In addition, even with fairly high risks, there is always the possibility of the birth of completely healthy offspring.

Diagnostics

When it comes to genetic pathologies, most people are primarily concerned about their own offspring. The peculiarity of hereditary diseases, and in particular schizophrenia, is that it is almost impossible to predict with a high degree of probability whether the disease will be transmitted or not. If one or both future parents have cases of this disease in the family, it makes sense to consult with a geneticist when planning a pregnancy, and also conduct intrauterine diagnostic examination fetus

Since hereditary schizophrenia has rather unexpressed symptoms, it can be diagnosed by initial stage can be very difficult, in most cases the diagnosis is made several years after the first appearance pathological signs. When making a diagnosis, the leading role is given to the psychological examination of patients and the study of their existing clinical manifestations.

Returning to the question of whether schizophrenia is inherited or not, we can say that there is no exact answer yet. The exact mechanism of development is still unknown pathological condition. There is no sufficient evidence to say that schizophrenia is a completely genetically determined disease, just as it cannot be said that its occurrence is the result of brain damage in each particular case.

Today, human genetic capabilities continue to be actively studied, and scientists and researchers around the world are gradually approaching an understanding of the mechanism of occurrence. hereditary schizophrenia. Specific gene mutations were discovered that increase the risk of developing the disease by more than tenfold, and it was also found that under certain conditions the risk of developing pathology in the presence of a hereditary predisposition can reach more than 70%. However, these figures remain rather arbitrary. We can only say with confidence that scientific progress in this area will determine what kind of pharmacological therapy schizophrenia in the near future.

All information provided on this site is for reference only and does not constitute a call to action. If you notice any symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor. Do not self-medicate or self-diagnose.

Schizophrenia - an unfortunate legacy

Is schizophrenia inherited or not? This question remained unanswered for centuries. Many different studies by scientists from different countries We were finally able to identify a connection with heredity. But here, too, it turned out that not everything is so simple; schizophrenia is not one of those diseases that are inherited using just one defective gene. In this case, a number of genes are involved, which in turn leads today to significant difficulties in identifying predisposition to the pathological process.

Facts about schizophrenia

The disease can have both hereditary and acquired etiology. Unfortunately, scientists still cannot name the exact cause of the development of the disease, despite long-term studies of patients and the use of their genetic material.

Schizophrenia - chronic pathology, which leads to mental disorders and disorders of thinking and perception. A pathology cannot be called dementia, since the intelligence of many remains at a high level. The activity of the senses, hearing and vision remains intact; the only difference from healthy people is the incorrect interpretation of incoming information.

In addition to genetic predisposition, there are a number of factors that can become the impetus for the first manifestations of pathology:

• brain injuries, including postpartum;
• social isolation;
• shocks and stress;
• environmental factor;
• problems in the intrauterine development of the fetus.

Is there a risk of heredity?

The question of the heredity of mental pathologies is quite acute. And since schizophrenia is one of the most common types of mental illnesses, scientists pay special attention to this pathology.

Since ancient times, schizophrenia has caused fear among ordinary people When they learned about the presence of relatives with this diagnosis, fearing negative heredity, they refused to marry. The opinion that schizophrenia is inherited in almost one hundred percent of cases is far from correct. There are many myths about heredity, as if the disease is transmitted through generations either only to boys, or, conversely, to girls. None of this is true. In fact, even people without negative heredity have a risk of getting sick; according to statistics, this is 1% of the healthy population.

Regarding heredity, there are also certain calculations of possible risk:

The greatest risk is for offspring who have a grandparent or one parent with a mental disorder. In this case, the risk rises to 46%;

• 48% have a risk of developing an identical twin, if pathology is detected in the second;
• in fraternal twins this threshold drops to 17%;
• if one of the parents and one of the grandparents is sick, the risk of the child developing the disease is 13%;
• if the disease is diagnosed in a brother or sister, the risk of pathology increases from one to 9%;
• pathology in one of the parents or in a half-sister or brother - 6%;
• among nephews - 4%;
• in an uncle, aunt, or cousin, the risk is 2%.

Is it all about genes or not?

Most genetic diseases transmitted by inheritance have a mild type of inheritance. There is no correct gene, and it is either passed on to descendants or not. But, in the case of schizophrenia, everything is different; the exact mechanism of its development has not yet been established. But according to research by geneticists, 74 genes have been identified that in one way or another may be involved in the development of the disease. So, the more of these 74 genes are defective, the higher the likelihood of the disease.

Genetically, there is no difference between a male or female descendant. In percentage terms before the disease, both sexes are equal. It was also found that the risk of the disease increases under the influence of several factors, not only hereditary, but also concomitant. For example, the manifestation of symptoms of pathology can be triggered by factors such as severe stress, drug addiction or alcoholism.

If a couple is planning a pregnancy and has a family history of schizophrenia, it is recommended that they be examined by a geneticist. With its help, there is no way to know for sure whether the heirs will have problems or not, but you can calculate the approximate probability of developing a pathology in a child and determine best period time for pregnancy.

In many ways, people suffering from schizophrenia are practically no different from healthy people. Only a few forms of pathology, in the acute stage, have pronounced mental abnormalities. During the period of remission, which is achieved by adequate treatment, the patient feels well and does not experience clinical manifestations of the disease. Although schizophrenia is a chronic diseases, the duration of remission can significantly exceed the period of exacerbation in time.

Schizophrenia is a hereditary disease, methods of diagnosis and treatment

Broadcast mental illness by inheritance is not an idle question. Everyone wants themselves, their loved ones and their children to be healthy physically and mentally.

What should you do if among your relatives or the relatives of your significant other there are patients with schizophrenia?

There was a time when there was talk that scientists had found 72 genes for schizophrenia. Several years have passed since then and the research data have not been confirmed.

Although schizophrenia is considered a genetically determined disease, structural changes in certain genes have not been found. A set of defective genes has been identified that disrupt brain function, but it cannot be said that this leads to the development of schizophrenia. That is, it is not possible, after spending genetic testing, to say whether a person will get schizophrenia or not.

Although there is a hereditary condition for the disease of schizophrenia, the disease develops from a complex of factors: sick relatives, the character of the parents and their attitude towards the child, upbringing in early childhood.

Since the origin of the disease is unknown, medical scientists have identified several hypotheses for the occurrence of schizophrenia:

• Genetic – in twin children, as well as in families where parents suffer from schizophrenia, more frequent manifestations of the disease are observed.
• Dopamine: human mental activity depends on the production and interaction of the main mediators, serotonin, dopamine and melatonin. In schizophrenia, there is increased stimulation of dopamine receptors in the limbic region of the brain. However, this causes the manifestation of productive symptoms, in the form of delusions and hallucinations, and does not in any way affect the development of negative symptoms - apatho-abulic syndrome: decreased will and emotions. ;
• Constitutional is a set of psychophysiological characteristics of a person: gynecomorphic men and pyknic-type women are most often found among patients with schizophrenia. Patients with morphological dysplasia are considered to be less responsive to treatment.
• The infectious theory of the origin of schizophrenia is currently of more historical interest than it has any basis. Previously it was believed that staphylococcus, streptococcus, tuberculosis and E. coli, as well as chronic viral diseases reduce human immunity, which is supposedly one of the factors in the development of schizophrenia.
• Neurogenetic: a mismatch between the work of the right and left hemispheres due to a defect in the corpus callosum, as well as a violation of the fronto-cerebellar connections leads to the development of productive manifestations of the disease.
• Psychoanalytic theory explains the appearance of schizophrenia in families with a cold and cruel mother, an oppressive father, a lack of warm relationships among family members, or their manifestation of opposing emotions to the same behavior of the child.
• Ecological – mutagenic influence of unfavorable environmental factors and lack of vitamins during fetal development.
• Evolutionary: increasing the intelligence of people and increasing technocratic development in society.

The likelihood of developing schizophrenia

The probability of developing schizophrenia in persons who do not have a sick relative is 1%. And for a person with a family history of schizophrenia, this percentage is distributed as follows:

• one of the parents is sick - the risk of getting sick will be 6%,
• father or mother is sick, as well as grandparents - 3%,
• a brother or sister suffers from schizophrenia – 9%,
• either the grandfather or grandmother is sick - the risk is 5%,
• when you got sick cousin(brother) or aunt (uncle), then the risk of disease is 2%,
• if only the nephew is sick, the probability of schizophrenia will be 6%.

This percentage only indicates possible risk schizophrenia, but does not guarantee its manifestation. As you go, the largest percentage is when parents and grandparents suffered from schizophrenia. Fortunately, this combination is quite rare.

Schizophrenia is hereditary in the female or male line

A reasonable question arises: if schizophrenia is a genetically dependent disease, is it transmitted through the maternal or paternal line? According to the observations of practicing psychiatrists, as well as statistics from medical scientists, such a pattern has not been identified. That is, the disease is transmitted equally through both the female and male lines.

Moreover, it more often manifests itself under the influence of combined factors: hereditary and constitutional characteristics, pathology during pregnancy and child development in the perinatal period, as well as characteristics of upbringing in childhood. Chronic and severe acute stress, as well as alcoholism and drug addiction can be provoking factors for the manifestation of schizophrenia.

Hereditary schizophrenia

Because real reasons The occurrence of schizophrenia is not known and not one of the theories of schizophrenia fully explains its manifestations - doctors are inclined to attribute the disease to hereditary diseases.

If one of the parents has schizophrenia or there are known cases of the disease among other relatives, before planning a child, such parents are advised to consult a psychiatrist and geneticist. An examination is carried out, the probabilistic risk is calculated and the most favorable period for pregnancy is determined.

We help patients not only with inpatient treatment, but also try to provide further outpatient and socio-psychological rehabilitation, telephone number of the Preobrazhenie clinic.

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Is schizophrenia hereditary or not?

Schizophrenia is a widely known mental illness. Several tens of millions of people worldwide suffer from this disease. Among the main hypotheses for the occurrence of the disease, particularly close attention is drawn to the question: can schizophrenia be inherited?

Heredity as a cause of the disease

Concern about whether schizophrenia is inherited is quite justified for people in whose families cases of the disease have been recorded. Also, possible bad heredity is a concern when getting married and planning offspring.

After all, this diagnosis means serious mental disturbances (the word “schizophrenia” itself is translated as “split consciousness”): delusions, hallucinations, motor impairment, manifestations of autism. A sick person becomes unable to think adequately, communicate with others and needs psychiatric treatment.

The first studies of the familial spread of the disease were carried out back in the centuries. For example, in the clinic of the German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin, one of the founders of modern psychiatry, they studied large groups schizophrenic patients. The works of the American professor of medicine I. Gottesman, who studied this topic, are also interesting.

There were initially a number of difficulties in confirming the “family theory”. In order to reliably determine whether a disease is genetic or not, it was necessary to recreate the complete picture of ailments in the human family. But many patients simply could not reliably confirm the presence or absence of mental disorders in their family.

Perhaps some of the patients’ relatives knew about the clouding of their minds, but these facts were often carefully hidden. Severe psychotic illness in relatives imposed a social stigma on the entire family. Therefore, such stories were hushed up both for descendants and for doctors. Often, ties between a sick person and his relatives were completely severed.

And yet, the family sequence in the etiology of the disease was traced very clearly. Although doctors, fortunately, do not give an unequivocally affirmative answer that schizophrenia is necessarily inherited. But genetic predisposition is among the main causes of this mental disorder.

Statistics of the “genetic theory”

To date, psychiatry has accumulated enough information to come to certain conclusions on the question of how schizophrenia is inherited.

Medical statistics say that if there is no clouding of reason in your family line, then your probability of getting sick is no more than 1%. However, if your relatives did have such diseases, then the risk increases accordingly and ranges from 2 to almost 50%.

The most high performance recorded in pairs of identical (monozygotic) twins. They have completely identical genes. If one of them gets sick, then the second has a 48% risk of developing pathology.

Much attention from the medical community was attracted by a case described in works on psychiatry (monograph by D. Rosenthal et al.) back in the 70s of the 20th century. The father of four identical twin girls suffered from mental disorders. The girls developed normally, studied and communicated with peers. One of them didn't graduate educational institution, but three completed their schooling successfully. However, at the ages of 20–23 years, schizoid mental disorders began to develop in all sisters. The most severe form is catatonic (with characteristic symptoms as psychomotor disorders) was recorded in a girl who had not completed school. Of course, in such striking cases, psychiatrists simply do not have doubts whether this is a hereditary disease or an acquired one.

A descendant has a 46% chance of getting sick if one of the parents (or mother, or father) is sick in his family, but both grandparents are sick. Genetic disease in the family in this case it is also actually confirmed. A person who had both a father and mother with mental illness in the absence of similar diagnoses among their parents would have a similar percentage of risk. Here it is also quite easy to see that the patient’s illness is hereditary and not acquired.

If in a pair of fraternal twins one of them has a pathology, then the risk of the second getting sick will be 15-17%. This difference between identical and fraternal twins is associated with the same genetic makeup in the first case, and a different one in the second.

A person with one patient in the first or second generation of the family has a 13% chance. For example, the likelihood of a disease occurring is transmitted from the mother with a healthy father. Or vice versa - from the father, while the mother is healthy. Option: both parents are healthy, but one of the grandparents is mentally ill.

9%, if your sibling fell victim to a mental illness, but no other similar abnormalities were found in the closest relatives.

From 2 to 6% the risk will be for someone in whose family there is only one case of pathology: one of your parents, a half-brother or sister, an uncle or aunt, one of your nephews, etc.

Note! Even a 50% probability is not a verdict, not 100%. So you shouldn’t take folk myths about the inevitability of passing on diseased genes “across generations” or “from generation to generation” too seriously. At the moment, genetics still does not have sufficient knowledge to accurately state the inevitability of the occurrence of the disease in each specific case.

Which line is more likely to have bad heredity?

Along with the question of whether a terrible disease is inherited or not, the type of inheritance itself was closely studied. Through which line is the disease most often transmitted? There is a popular belief that heredity through the female line is much less common than through the male line.

However, psychiatry does not confirm such a guess. In the question of how schizophrenia is inherited more often - through the female line or through the male line, medical practice has revealed that gender is not decisive. That is, transmission of a pathological gene from mother to son or daughter is possible with the same probability as from father.

The myth that the disease is transmitted to children more often through the male line is associated only with the peculiarities of the pathology in men. As a rule, mentally ill men are simply more visible in society than women: they are more aggressive, there are more alcoholics and drug addicts among them, they experience stress and mental complications more severely, and they adapt less well in society after suffering mental crises.

About other hypotheses of the occurrence of pathology

Does it happen that a mental disorder affects a person in whose family there were absolutely no such pathologies? Medicine has clearly answered in the affirmative the question of whether schizophrenia can be acquired.

Along with heredity, doctors also name among the main causes of the development of the disease:

• neurochemical disorders;
• alcoholism and drug addiction;
• a traumatic experience experienced by a person;
• maternal illness during pregnancy, etc.

The pattern of development of a mental disorder is always individual. Whether a hereditary disease or not is visible in each specific case only if all possible reasons disorders of consciousness.

Obviously, with a combination of bad heredity and other provoking factors, the risk of getting sick will be higher.

Additional Information. More details about the causes of pathology, its development and possible prevention says psychotherapist, candidate of medical sciences Galushchak A.

What to do if you are at risk?

If you know for sure that you have an innate predisposition to mental disorders, you need to take this information seriously. It is easier to prevent any disease than to cure it.

Simple preventive measures quite within the capabilities of any person:

1. Lead healthy image life, give up alcohol and other bad habits, choose the optimal mode for yourself physical activity and rest, control your diet.
2. Regularly see a psychologist, consult a doctor promptly if you have any unfavorable symptoms, and do not self-medicate.
3. Pay attention Special attention to your mental well-being: avoid stressful situations, excessive loads.

Remember that a competent and calm attitude towards a problem makes the path to success in any business easier. With timely access to doctors, many cases of schizophrenia are successfully treated in our time, and patients get a chance for a healthy and happy life.

A mental illness that manifests itself in constant variability of consciousness, activity, perception and progresses to disability is called schizophrenia. Both men and women suffer from these diseases. The disorder includes a dozen common psychoses. Patients with this disease hear different voices of invisible people; They think that everyone around them knows about all their thoughts and can control them. This condition causes constant paranoia, self-isolation, and aggressive agitation. Depending on the severity of the disease, patients behave differently: some tirelessly talk about the strange and incomprehensible; others sit silently, I get the impression of healthy people. Both individuals cannot serve themselves or work in any organization.

Experts believe that schizophrenia and heredity are close brothers to each other, and some life circumstances (stress, lifestyle) can complement them.

So is it all hereditary or not?

“Schizophrenia is inherited,” this is what experts of the past believed. They argued: those who had relatives in their family with such a mental disorder, the illness would manifest itself sooner or later, and in the absence of such relatives, they assumed that the patient simply did not know about it.

Proof modern medicine they refute the fact that genes are to blame and claim that only in half of the cases schizophrenia is hereditary; in other cases, the disease occurs due to a persistent transformation of the genotype of the germ cells of the parents and the reasons for their mutation are unknown.

Each cell of the body has 23 pairs of chromosomes and at conception, 2 copies of genes are transmitted (one from the father and mother). There is an assumption that only a few structural hereditary units have a risk of inheriting schizophrenia, but great influence they do not have a bearing on the development of the disease. The process of disease formation not only from hereditary factors, but also from the environment:

• Infectious diseases caused by viruses.
• Poor nutrition of the embryo while in the womb.
• Poor psychological situation in the family or at work.
• Injuries to the child during childbirth.

Figures of hereditary schizophrenia

1% of the country's population has a group of mental disorders, but if parents have it, then the risk of developing the disease becomes 10 times greater. The risk of inheriting schizophrenia increases even more if second-degree relatives, for example, a grandmother or cousin, suffer from it. The peak risk is the disease of one of the homozygous twins (up to 65%).

The location of the chromosome in the gene is very important. A defect in chromosome 16 will have less destructive force on the brain than a defect in the 4th or 5th structural element of the cell nucleus.

Science and schizophrenia

Californian scientists conducted a study in which stem cells from mentally ill patients were taken. They were given different levels development, observed their behavior, creating unusual or stressful conditions of existence in an unnatural way. And for good reason! The study revealed oddities in the behavior and movement of these cells, that is, several groups of proteins.

According to scientists, the experiments should help in diagnosing schizophrenia in the early stages.

Is it possible to find out about the disease before the birth of the child?

Is schizophrenia a hereditary disease? Yes! But it is impossible to determine the probability of gene transmission during conception, since mental disorder is caused not only by defects in units of hereditary material, but also by other influencing factors. And the number of defective genes varies for each person. Therefore, there is definitely no need to worry about your children inheriting this disease.

In fact, it can be assumed that the probability of inheriting schizophrenia will be related to the number of defective units of hereditary material. The more there are, the higher the risk of getting the disease.

There is no clear answer as to whether schizophrenia is a hereditary disease or not. The disease remains to this day the most severe mental disorder which cannot be completely cured. As scientists did not struggle with experiments and research, they were never able to substantiate the etiology of schizophrenia, as a result of which there are no approved methods of treatment. The only thing that can be done for the patient is to conduct psychotherapy sessions with the supplement drug treatment. In especially severe cases, it is necessary to select a drug that will calm the patient and remove the danger to others.