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IRISH RESEARCHERS have played a key role in a new discovery about the genetics of schizophrenia. The finding, that rare structural changes in a person's DNA could increase the risk of developing the condition, was reported by two large research consortiums last week in the prestigious journal, Nature.

Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) contributed to a study by the International Schizophrenia Consortium that trawled through genetic information from over 3,000 people with schizophrenia, as well as matched controls, explained lead researcher Dr Aiden Corvin, who heads the Psychosis Research Group at TCD.