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The schizophrenia presents different molecular mechanisms men e donne, as clarified by an Italian discovery that for the first time explains the differences in the symptoms of the disease between the two sexes. The interaction between two genes, DTNBP1 and COMT, both involved in the control of cognitive functions and in the pathophysiological processes of schizophrenia, varies depending on sex. This discovery was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry thanks to the collaboration of the Universities of Catania, “Aldo Moro” of Bari and Padua.
The importance of this research lies in the possibility of developing personalized therapies to counteract the symptoms of schizophrenia, which persist even during remission and respond poorly to currently available pharmacological treatments. “Understanding how the differences between males and females can intervene in the interaction between the genetic component and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia is the first step in developing targeted and different therapies for men and women,” he has declared Gian Marco music standassociate professor of Pharmacology at the University of Catania and coordinator of the study, conducted by Federica Geraci of the University of Catania e Roberta Passiatore of the University of Bari. They also collaborated Giulio Pergola of the University of Bari and John Hopkins University of Baltimore (USA) e Fabio Bless you of the University of Padua.
Researchers have succeeded in replicating genetic conditions similar to those of schizophrenia patients using a genetically modified animal model. In this way, they were able to reconstruct and describe the molecular and functional mechanisms through which the DTNBP1 and COMT genes interact, modulating cognitive functions in both males and females.
“The translational approach of our study – explained Sambataro – it has allowed us to understand complex molecular mechanisms that are very difficult to highlight using a predominantly clinical approach“. Through the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans, researchers have highlighted that the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, involved in impaired cognitive functions in schizophrenia, is differentially modulated by the two genes in males and females.
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