A recent study has uncovered evidence linking schizophrenia and bipolar disorder — a breakthrough in mental illness research.
UNC professor Patrick Sullivan, one of the researchers who conducted the study, found similarities in the DNA structure of people with the illnesses.
The study sampled more than 50,000 adults and involved a collaboration between more than 65 international research institutions.
Sullivan, who worked on the study for four years, said the goal of the study was to isolate the genes that cause schizophrenia, which usually run in families.
“At some point soon, this work can give us insight into real genetic causes and how to treat people better or even lead to cures,” he said.
Eric Youngstrom, UNC professor of psychology and psychiatry and acting director for the Center for Excellence in Research and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder, said he is excited by the study’s finds because of the possibility of overlapping treatments.
Jennifer Rothman, family program director for the North Carolina National Alliance on Mental Illness, said she hopes the study will generate more empathy for people with mental illnesses.
“Really what this research is going to do is fuel our fire,” she said.
Gloria Harrison, help-line manager for N.C. NAMI, stated in an email that the benefits of the study will help de-stigmatize mental illness.
“It underscores the biological nature of the illness,” Harrison said.
