Introduction
Psychosis is the most heritable and common mental disorder. It can affect anyone of any age, gender, or background. There is a lack of interest in activities with impaired thought and emotions and loss of contact with external reality. People with psychosis may generate things that only they can see or hear. This disorder varies depending on the type of psychosis. Cocaine may affect this disorder and elongate it for several weeks. Relationships, daily routine, and quality of life may be interrupted by this disorder. It is a scary and confusing condition that may affect both the person having this disorder and their relatives. There are multiple factors that cause psychosis. Environmental factors and genetic factors contribute equally to the development of this disorder. This disorder can be managed by medications, psychotherapy, and the support of psychosocial departments. It can be prevented by early intervention and lots of care.
What Is Psychosis?
Psychosis is defined as several mental disorders with loss of contact and impaired thoughts and emotions. It is a group of symptoms that affect the mind. There are alterations in brain structure and changes in certain chemicals. People with psychosis may have hallucinations or delusions, or disorganized speech. Various factors affect psychosis, such as mental illness, brain injuries, infections, drugs, alcohol, and sleeplessness. Psychosis is also a symptom of many mental disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorders are characterized by instant shifts of moods in individuals, whereas schizophrenia causes hallucinations and delusions. The causes of psychosis are unknown. Those with a family history of psychosis are at 8 to 10 times the risk of having a disorder in the general population, which is about one percent.
What Are the Symptoms Of Psychosis?
Psychosis is a distinct disease that can be diagnosed only by clinical features, and there are no validating biomarkers or diagnostic tests for psychosis. The mood disturbance is a unique feature of psychosis.
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Difficulty in concentrating.
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Depressed mood (feeling of sadness, emptiness, or loss of interest).
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Feeling sleepy all the time.
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Anxiety (feeling of tension, physical changes with increased blood pressure).
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Suspiciousness (suspicion about someone or something).
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Delusion (a fixed false belief that conflicts with reality).
What Is Genetics Of Psychosis?
Psychosis is caused by genes and environmental factors. There is interplay between genetics and environmental factors. There are no susceptibility genes for the development of psychosis disorder. Studies show there is involvement of many genes, each making small contributions to the risk of development of this disorder. The ZNF804A (zinc finger protein 804A) and CACNA1C (calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha 1C) loci (a location where a pair of the genes are located) are present in the progression of this disorder. Psychosis is most common in the population having a family history of this disorder. Twin studies reveal heritability (the process of carrying genes to the children from their parents) for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder of around 84 percent or more with a largely unknown environmental factor which are also responsible for causing mental disorders. Studies have generated a number of candidate susceptibility genes for psychosis. Neuregulin 1 (NRG1), dystrobrevin binding protein 1 (DTNBP1), Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), and d-amino acid oxidase inhibitor (DAOA) are the genes that have strong evidence of causing psychosis. Studies also found that the common allele (pair of a gene) for each of these genes is also involved in susceptibility to major mood disorders. But this is a little controversial. The strong evidence came from DISC1, which is transmitted in the family and is responsible for causing major mood disorders and schizophrenia. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) study with individual genotyping was based upon only 178 cases. They reported that few genes are interlinked with psychosis. But there is an unclear bias finding as a study was conducted in small populations. At the level of brain function, GWAS analyzed that psychosis-associated allele is associated with the degree of brain function. Gene may influence brain connectivity which alters brain functions. The diacylglycerol kinase eta (DGKH) gene is also found to be responsible for causing bipolar disorder. DGKH gene encodes for the translocation of signals.
There is strong evidence of associations to common alleles for both disorders and, in the case of schizophrenia, clear evidence for the involvement of copy number variation. This finding helps as biomarkers in understanding poor disorders.
What Is the Future Of Genetics In Psychosis?
GWAS has made a large contribution to poor understandable disease. It gives clearance about common diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. The genetic variants are yet to be explained by GWAS in detail. But the information and clear understanding of rare genes, gene variants, structural variants of genes, and small effects of genes help in treating the disease. Due to a small study sample, the genetics of psychosis is not clear. For exact analysis, ten thousand study samples are needed. There is no such diagnostic test for psychosis. There is a hope that GWAS findings will be helpful in finding the exact gene which causes mental disorders. It is seen that individuals with psychosis have familial history. Therefore there is more research and understanding needed in the field of genetics. It can improve therapeutics.
Conclusion
Based on studies, it is suggested that the lifetime prevalence of psychotic disorders is 0.32 %. Researchers said that in the case of psychosis, a gene may have changed and made the conditions more likely. If there is an identical twin, then there are high chances of this disorder. This disorder is a common response to a wide variety of neurological diseases but is also a common syndrome that occurs in primary psychiatric diseases. It can be corrected through early diagnosis and by the removal of specific causes. Early diagnosis and proper medical intervention can cure the disease.
