Tracing through familiesThe study examined 80 individuals from 80 separate families from southern India, which each had several members affected by severe mental illness. Thus, the study concludes that families with several members affected by severe mental illness can be used to detect signatures of evolution. Also, since immune-related genes show a significant positive selection in these families, the study underlines the contribution of immune mechanisms and infection susceptibility to the genetics of severe mental illness. How these widespread changes increase the risk of mental illnesses is a deep biological issue, and needs to be researched across populations. “Mental illness cannot, and perhaps should not, be ‘eradicated’ or ‘defeated’ but managed with compassion and dignity, and an understanding that is biological as much as it is psychological,” he says.

Source: The Hindu November 27, 2021 18:32 UTC