Schizophrenia and manic depression may have similar genetic cause

Schizophrenia and manic depression, major psychotic illnesses affecting about 2% of the population, may have a similar genetic cause new research suggests.

Both are partly characterised by delusions, but manic depression, or bipolar disorder, involves cycles of extreme high and low episodes.

Scientists examined the preserved brains of 15 subjects who had schizophrenia and 15 who had manic depression. The genetic make-up of the tissue was compared with that of 15 brains taken from subjects who had neither illness.