For most of us, when we think of schizophrenia, our minds go back to the movie Sybil starring Sally Field and her multiple personalities. Whether Sybil had the disorder is debatable, but 1% of the world's population diagnosed with schizophrenia suffer from hallucinations, delusion, and cognitive deficits. "Schizophrenia is a devastating disease," said Robert Waterland, PhD, professor of pediatrics-nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine. "Although genetic and environmental components seem to be involved in the condition, current evidence only explains a small portion of cases, suggesting that other factors, such as epigenetic, also could be important." Waterland and his colleagues at the Baylor College of Medicine have now developed an innovative strategy that promises the ability for early diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Summary: Blood tests revealed specific epigenetic biomarkers for schizophrenia. Researchers applied machine learning to analyze the CoRSIVs region of the human genome to identify the schizophrenia biomarkers. Testing the model with an independent data set revealed the AI technology can detect schizophrenia with 80% accuracy. An innovative strategy that analyzes a region of the genome offers the possibility of early diagnosis of schizophrenia, reports a team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine. The strategy applied a machine learning algorithm called SPLS-DA to analyze specific regions of the human genome called CoRSIVs, hoping to reveal epigenetic markers for the condition.