Friday, March 1, 2013

Common genetic risk basis for psychiatric disorders

The NY Times reports the findings of a new study that links the same genetic glitch to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, major depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. And sociopathy? I see autism and ADHD on there, both of which I think are related to sociopathy.


Their study, published online Wednesday in the Lancet, was based on an examination of genetic data from more than 60,000 people worldwide. Its authors say it is the largest genetic study yet of psychiatric disorders. The findings strengthen an emerging view of mental illness that aims to make diagnoses based on the genetic aberrations underlying diseases instead of on the disease symptoms.

Two of the aberrations discovered in the new study were in genes used in a major signaling system in the brain, giving clues to processes that might go awry and suggestions of how to treat the diseases.

“What we identified here is probably just the tip of an iceberg,” said Dr. Jordan Smoller, lead author of the paper and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. “As these studies grow we expect to find additional genes that might overlap.”
***
Researchers had already seen some clues of overlapping genetic effects in identical twins. One twin might have schizophrenia while the other had bipolar disorder. About six years ago, around the time the new study began, researchers had examined the genes of a few rare families in which psychiatric disorders seemed especially prevalent. They found a few unusual disruptions of chromosomes that were linked to psychiatric illnesses. But what surprised them was that while one person with the aberration might get one disorder, a relative with the same mutation got a different one.

Jonathan Sebat, chief of the Beyster Center for Molecular Genomics of Neuropsychiatric Diseases at the University of California, San Diego, and one of the discoverers of this effect, said that work on these rare genetic aberrations had opened his eyes. “Two different diagnoses can have the same genetic risk factor,” he said. 

In fact, the new paper reports, distinguishing psychiatric diseases by their symptoms has long been difficult. Autism, for example, was once called childhood schizophrenia. It was not until the 1970s that autism was distinguished as a separate disorder.

I thought this was very interesting, especially the one twin schizophrenic and the other bipolar. I get a lot of emails and see a lot of comments where people mention that there is someone in their family who is a narcissist or BPD or bipolar. It could be that being exposed to these people in an intimate, familial setting could be the environment that is triggering otherwise unrelated genes in sociopaths, etc.? Or maybe we all share more in common genetically than we had previously considered. Right aspies?

Of course the predicament here is that if we killed sociopaths or put them on an island, that really wouldn't weed out the gene, would it? Sterilize sociopaths? Same argument would apply to anyone who shared the genetic risk factor, maybe bipolar, autistics, etc.? Genocide targeting sociopaths may have gotten just a little bit more complicated.

76 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Ow, so that's what you look like Alterego

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    2. Lol nice try, but no cigar.

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    3. Piles, are you baiting me to divulge information about my appearance? :)

      It could even be a completed painting; I cant tell at this resolution.

      In order to be a good sport in the event of the former, I will give you this: the forehead is much too high (I have full, thick hair, even in front, without bangs), the cheekbones too low, the jaw too square, the nose too large (my nose is small and straight) and the eyes too wide. (My eyes are almond shaped, and my mouth, kind of heart shaped.) My eyes are a vibrant blue, and I like to keep my hair fiery. In short, this person looks nothing like me.

      This is going to sound narcissistic, but I have actually been told that I look like Nicole Kidman. It's mostly the eyes. I have delicate features.

      And if it indeed was you, nice touch on first.:P

      :)

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  2. I just wanna play

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  3. Why do people have to hate us for not having feelings?! Its so STUPID!!!!! :'(

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    1. I mean genocide? Put us on a death island? Wth?!? people WOULD do that!?!

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  4. Perhaps the way to go about it would be to first develop an anti-psychopath vaccine that would act to inactivate the specific genes associated with the full spectrum.

    The vaccine would be administered to all newborns shortly after birth, maybe tagged along with lets say the hepatits B vaccination.

    In addition to the vaccine, we would also develop a highly sophisticated brain imaging scanning technology, lets call it the Psy-FMR, and this would with a high degree of accuracy detect the typical psychopathic brain use and size pattern. This test would be required to be taken by everyone beginning at age 10 and of course everyone presently older than that. This would catch the rare vaccine non-responder.

    All detected psychopaths would then be sent to Psychopath Island, which would be under a 24 hour full video record. Psychopath execution parties could be held and broadcast on PPV, with the proceeds used to end world hunger. In addition to direct executions, we could have "reality days" and give them guns and nasty type weapons and of course film the aftermath.

    A psychopath entertainment network could be created, and it would basically chronicle life on the island, from a distance. HBO could run it. Give it a tagline, "they've been messin' up humanity since the dawn of time, let's see what happens when we put 50 million psychopaths together on a small dirty island with little food, and too many assault weapons".

    I admit, perhaps this is all a little too unrealistically bleeding heart liberal lovey-dovey.
    Just an idea.

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    1. Sounds like Clock Work Orange meets Dr. Moreau...

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    2. Let's add to this a test while in the womb and abort the fetus if so-desired. Could go both ways, UKan could make sure that he gets a psycho son if he so desires. Because if the son is not psycho enough he'll find that child far too sissy for his purposes.

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    3. Go Ukan abort!

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    4. If Ukan's kid didn't commit suicide, do you really think it could be anything other than a psycho? XD

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    5. My kid will be a chip off the old asshead.

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    6. I take offense to that.

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  5. Why are people concerning themselves with finding ways to eliminate PDs? This is ridiculous. It brings variety to the swarming masses of normal people.

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    1. Hmmm, because they're stupid?

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    2. Yes, of course :) and they don't understand that we LIKE to be the way we are.

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    3. I think the severity of PDs could be solved quite simply actually. If the person with a PD had better parenting or care giving they probably would have turned out better.

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    4. True. But it can't be helped. There is always going to be bad parenting

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  6. I want to destroy myself for all my transgressions, sins, if you will. I know it is stupid because what did I really do? I have a hidden bomb ticking inside. The bomb sniffing dogs would attack me, if I happened to be walking by a crime scene.

    I try to analyze it logically, but I come up with nothing. I think I have to knife it to shreds, so it fears the fuck out of me. One can't be a pussy in the fight for one's life.

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    1. I was a blight on a clean canvas. I should have been a self contained entity like the Biosphere. All that is needed is contained within the whole, in an amazing display of technology and nature. Then, I could have liked myself and grown up with a shred of personal dignity and regard.

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  7. "Of course the predicament here is that if we killed sociopaths or put them on an island, that really wouldn't weed out the gene, would it? Sterilize sociopaths? Same argument would apply to anyone who shared the genetic risk factor, maybe bipolar, autistics, etc.? Genocide targeting sociopaths may have gotten just a little bit more complicated"


    This makes me think of conservatives yelling about putting all the homosexuals on an island to keep them from society... Gay people, come from straight people having sex. It won't weed out anything. It won't stop anything from continuing to occur. It'll just make an island of people capable of being more open about who they are without fear of persecution in that environment.

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    1. From now, for the sake gays everywhere, I aim to commit myself to being less of a Cunt, and more of an Ass.

      This should be everyone's new-year resolution in case you forgot to pick one.

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    2. *End patriotic music*

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  8. Hi socios and whoever.

    I have a question about something I have been thinking about a long time. WHen there was the post on altruistic punishment, it reminded me of this thing I did . It was something I did to my ex antisocial mal narc. I do not think it is the same thing as altruistic punishment, but really i am not sure.

    I cannot make up my mind what it was because for sure it was a strange thing to do, and not something my other friends would have done. I did it to hurt, but also to extend a forgiving hand of ...well, good will, I think.

    One of my narcissistic friends laughed her fucking ass off with the story. She is very into talking and bragging about they way she is so adept at making people feel small.


    ANyway, I asked my therapist at the time what it was, and he said I was being genuinely nice. It felt to me like a "SEE how nice my thoughts of you were" kind of thing, A "You could have had all this generosity" kind of thing. But it was sort of mean. It really was. I rubbed his face in something he never likes to talk about. I thought it was both mean but also that I was telling how much I liked him, even though he is so very damaged. I would like to discuss, even though it is a long story. I have been thinking about it a long time.

    One of my narcissistic friends laughed her fucking ass off with the story. She is very into talking and bragging about they way she is so adept at making people feel small. I didn't get it.But maybe I will now.

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  9. Off topic: I don't post in the forum but for those that have insomnia - a good suggestion that works for me.

    Health Food Stores carry a powdered magnesium that I take nightly. It's called CALM. I imagine most are deficient in magnesium and a doctor can always check out your levels when you have a blood test. By the way - take it by mouth don't snort it. It looks like cocaine. It works great!!

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    1. I have that in sample I got free. Why is it that you imagine most people are deficient in magnesium? I will try it, maybe tonight.

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    2. Anon 4:33
      "Most people are deficient in magnesium."

      Research and reading. Also, if you take calcium supplements you may become constipated. (Oprah told all America this on TV) The powdered magnesium allowed me to continue with the calcium and no more sleepless nights.

      It is pricey - $44 but lasts 2 + months.

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    3. Magnesium is absorbed thru the small intestine - mine has been damaged by gluten issues so my levels are safe with the CALM powder supplement.

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    4. oh. thank you for that info. I just took some of the sample. I sat in my cupboard for years, I hope it is still good.

      I didnt want to take it all because it said too much will cause diarrhea.

      I feel calm already and it has been 20 minutes.

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    5. I am going to get some today. Thanks!!

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    6. Anon March 2, 2013 at 9:05 PM

      Aren't you cute?

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    7. Frankly, 9:05, I think you have diarrhea of the soul.

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    8. u r right. my soul is burning out of my pores and hurts like bad diarrhea on the anus.

      ^ that is an example of a person trying for cute. The other was just making awkward conversation. Get your shit together, 5:28

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    9. People will fight over anything, here!

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    10. it is not fighting, Monica. it is relating by baiting and sniping. they have insatiable desire to win any little battle here because irl they can only do it in their heads. Otherwise nobody would give them the time of day. Is my personal projecting take lol.

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    11. I guess so ^^

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    12. Anon 6:48

      "Get your shite together."

      Sounds like you're jealous. Deal with it!

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    13. I posted the magnesium hint with the realization that snakes would come out of the woodwork.

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    14. lol 742!

      You mean it sounded like 5:28 was jealous! Oh I understand now. You think that people who criticize are jealous.


      My mother, queen narc, she would tell me mean people are just jealous. This was very annoying. I would argue with her. It never felt like any of the mean ones were jealous.

      Some people are just mean and/or they do not hesitate to tell you that you grate on them or they do not like you.

      DId anyone else here have their parents tell them that a bully was jealous?

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    15. Lol 8:56

      Your still blaming your mother? How sad for you!

      "Some people are just mean and/or they do not hesitate to tell you that you grate on them or they do not like you."

      I don't give a fuck if like me.

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    16. she did not even listen to tales of bullying. no body was there to assist me. she was emotionally and socially retarded. and there was no dad either. If you were raised by a retard and you started dating hardcore antisocial narcs with criminal records you'd wonder who the fuck''s to blame.

      It IS sad for me.

      I dont give a fuck if anybody here like me either.

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    17. Good, Anon. I like you and you just be you!

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    18. i am trying, Monica!

      How are you today?

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    19. The question is how will monica and zoe fair on judgement day

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    20. I am going to be fine on Judgement Day :D
      I am pretty good, Anon 10:17. You? What is going on with you today?

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    21. they will go to heaven in a pink balloon shaped like a cadillac with a supply of dark chocolate malted milk balls, cartons of icecream, korean ginseng, booze for zoe and coconut water and kale for monica,...

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    22. Me? I am chillin. I will see a movie tonight.

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  10. I am really depressed. I try to hard to heal my past, the thoughts in my head and it is so slow. It seems like when I make progress, I look back and see how lost and numb I was and seeing that makes me feel so hopeless because all this effort for an inch. Also, when I look back, it is scary how bad I was like I don't see how I even hung on like I did with all my crazy ideas. I feel like I have a huge prison on my back and it is all the distortions but they will only go with a huge expenditure of effort and then I get a small growth spurt, but it is so small. I just feel like I will never get over these distortions about myself.

    I think the depression is rage like pure killer rage but how do I let it go? I am so frustrated that I am crying with everything--the rage, the depression, the hopelessness.

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    1. maybe you're trying too hard?

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    2. why not also allocate some time to being happy for what you have and where you're at? awareness is half the battle. and actually just because it doesn't feel good doesn't mean there is no progress. it sure doesn't sound like you're numb.

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    3. Writing helps me feel, Zoe <3

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    4. For Zoe:
      I have my little program for healing. It is a combination of programs I have studied. I am only interested in a bringing down of the walls of disassociation. I am not interested in palliative measures, though I don't think you are saying that. I want to feel, and that is what is under the layers of disassociation. Writing has been one of the biggest tools. When I write on here, I know I will get honest feedback, even if it is that it sucks, which I get. For me, life is about personal expression. Happiness is about personal expression.
      Many people don't understand that, but I don't write for them. I write for myself and the FEW who do <3

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    5. I have been thinking about what you said, Zoe. I respect you, so I can hear from you. I do think I need to try to enjoy the ride more, at the same time I am trying to break down the disassociation. Thanks for being you!

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    6. yeah that's what i meant. it's like doing anything, exercise, playing piano. the down time gives your brain / muscles time to assimilate and rebuild. possibly it's not the same with emotion and trauma, or it could be that the approach works for me when dealing with issues but not for everyone? i need to step away. i can't do only one thing for an extended period of time, if that makes sense.

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    7. and i do realize that writing makes you feel :-)

      but for me when i work on something, i need to spend time not working on it. no matter what it is. not sure if that would work for you though.

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    8. I hear you, Zoe. I am so thankful that God gave me the gift of singing harmony because that is the single thing that will transform me from depression to joy.

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    9. lucky you. i wish i could sing.

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    10. Anyone can sing( or most anyone) if they have the right teacher but everyone has gifts that they would be in total joy doing. They just have to find them, and some are obscure. What do you love to do, Zoe?

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    11. i like to write too.

      and ponder my strange existence. actually the writing mostly serves the pondering, so pretty much all i like to do is ponder my existence. i think secretly somewhere deep down i think i will find my way out to some other more interesting world.

      well there is sleep

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    12. Zoe
      What is your passion that you would love to do free, just for the joy of it?

      For me, if I wrote and no one read it or commented, it would not help. It is the bridge that my soul makes to other people's souls. Therein, lies the healing. When someone "gets" me, my heart sings with joy. I know the responses are real because people don't BS on here. That is why it means so much to me to write on here.

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    13. i guess for me not everything is about connecting with people, having them get me. there is connecting with the rest of the world too. i write and play the piano just for the fun of it, and it's a way of taking what the world throws out all day long and transforming it. just pure expression, not reaching out for connection.

      but i would rather be out there, skydiving, driving, doing. which limits the desk time.

      i'm actually working on a short book so have to think of who the audience will be. but for anyone who reads it, it will be their own personal adventure. if there is connection well cool, but it's also interesting to see where what you create takes others, which could be on entirely different paths. and if they reflect that back, if they share it, it would be like discovering a piece of yourself you didn't know existed.

      or not. :-)

      as far as healing and self-improvement that's just not me. i mean i do it if it will help get me to where i want to go. but just for its own sake seems so empty and meaningless, a kind of death wish. if you can get to the point where you can enjoy life you're healed. how you get there...who cares.

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    14. of course it's always very delicious when there is a connection.

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  11. Why do you care about the past so much? Whatever! Just move on. This is all just melodrama. You do it to yourself.

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    1. Its the same as when hushpuppy said oneday someone will know there was a hushpuppy, except it's one day *I* will know *I* existed. That is all. Now go on home like a good little boy.

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  12. Kill 'em all! Let god sort 'em out. Just kidding :)

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  13. Wouldn't sociopaths just be extreme NTs? Aspies would be on the other end.

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  14. Thanks for the advice! I would be interested in knowing some other foods that have Vitamin B that you recommend. I am not huge on taking supplements, most because I never really have taken them, but maybe it is worth a try. I find that energy levels dwindle during the holidays as I over stress my brain making sure everything is good to go. natural supplements for constipation

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