December 21, 2025

@michaelokun

Do shared genes blur the lines across 14 psychiatric disorders? YES, according no a new paper in Nature. Genetic landscape refers to the full pattern of shared and unique DNA variants that influence risk across multiple conditions, rather than a single diagnosis. Strom and colleagues describe in a new paper in Nature how large scale genomic analyses across more than one million cases reveal deep genetic overlap among 14 psychiatric disorders. Key Points: - Shared genetic risk dominates as five major genomic factors explain about two thirds of inherited risk across the disorders. - Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder cluster tightly together while depression, PTSD and anxiety form an internalizing group w/ very few disorder specific genes. - Broad shared genes relate to early brain development, while more specific patterns map to excitatory neurons or oligodendrocyte biology, and are more dependent on the factor. My take: As we amass gigantic datasets, looking at how genes blur can be super informative. Please read this paper and decide for yourself, as I am biased w/ a small part of the data drawn from our institutional collaboration (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Tourette Syndrome Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium). 1- Many psychiatric diagnoses share the same genetic roots, which may help explain why symptoms frequently overlap. 2- Genes linked across disorders tend to act early in brain development rather than appearing later in life. 3- Some groups of conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are genetically closer than their labels suggest. 4- Understanding shared biology could help health care providers target treatments that work across multiple conditions. 5- Will future care models move beyond rigid categories toward biology informed approaches that better match how our brains actually work? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09820-3 #michaelokun #fixelinstitute #nature #depression #anxiety #bipolar #schizophrenia