Biomarker for schizophrenia can be detected in human hair

Working with model mice, postmortem human brains, and people with schizophrenia, researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have discovered that a subtype of schizophrenia is related to abnormally high levels hydrogen sulfide in the brain. Experiments showed that this abnormality likely results from a DNA-modifying reaction during development that lasts throughout life. In addition to providing a new direction for research into drug therapies, higher-than-normal levels of the hydrogen sulfide-producing enzyme can act as biomarker for this type of schizophrenia.