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New Strong evidence for schizophrenia's cause
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/01/27/scientists-open-the-black-box-of-schizophrenia-with-dramatic-genetic-finding/?postshare=6141453998947337&tid=ss_gp

The researchers, chiefly from the Broad Institute, Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital, found that a person's risk of schizophrenia is dramatically increased if they inherit variants of a gene important to "synaptic pruning" -- the healthy reduction during adolescence of brain cell connections that are no longer needed.

In patients with schizophrenia, a variation in a single position in the DNA sequence marks too many synapses for removal and that pruning goes out of control. The result is an abnormal loss of gray matter.
Regards,
-scott
Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
New Fascinating. Biology's weird.
New When we have a cure, then what?
Richard Mayhew at Balloon-Juice:

This is amazing. It gives bio-chemists, neurologists, doctors and drugmakers a fairly precise target to chase for new drugs. The best case scenario is for those drugs that have yet to be invented will be available for prescription in eight to ten years. The probable case is much longer.

However there are several things that a best case scenario illustrates for discussion purposes:

- How much should a drug cost?
- Who should get them?
- Who pays?

Schizophrenia is an expensive condition to treat. On average, schizophrenia costs $10,000 or more per person per year in direct medical costs. Indirect costs are higher. Treatment right now is harm mitigation, psychosis minimization, and behavioral modifications. If there was to be a cure or a significant prophylactic treatment that significantly reduced symptoms it would be a game changer.

Let’s assume a wonder drug that has a high probability over a course of a single treatment regime of indeterminate time where the end result is a very significant reduction in the number of people who are diagnosable at the end of the treatment and observation regime with schizophrenia. How does that wonder drug get priced?


Unsurprisingly, there are lots of issues, and lots of money, involved in deciding the answers to those three questions.

It's a good read.

Cheers,
Scott.
New And of course we've got competing incentives
Let's say there's a breakthrough and they're able to get a 100% cure rate with a pill they can profitably manufacture for $1 a treatment. That's $10k per year "saved".

But that means someone isn't going to be getting that $10k per year any more. And they won't like that very much.
--

Drew
New Yup.
That's one of the obvious reasons why immediate, dramatic reductions in medical cost for the country as a whole are very, very difficult. Sure, single payer costs less and is more efficient. But what about the people who are doing those "inefficient" jobs now? It takes time to change the system in a way that isn't hugely disruptive.

Cheers,
Scott.
(Who remembers talk of anti-cavity vaccines that would be ready by 1990...)
New Man, this is a big deal! Thanks for the link!
Alex

"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."

-- Isaac Asimov
     Strong evidence for schizophrenia's cause - (malraux) - (5)
         Fascinating. Biology's weird. -NT - (mmoffitt)
         When we have a cure, then what? - (Another Scott) - (2)
             And of course we've got competing incentives - (drook) - (1)
                 Yup. - (Another Scott)
         Man, this is a big deal! Thanks for the link! -NT - (a6l6e6x)

We can probably skip drugs and prostitution, but the mortgage business looks good.
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