Stem cells’ role in better understanding schizophrenia

How can we use stem cells to treat heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, or hematological diseases? These are all crucial questions that are being researched extensively by scientists. But one has to wonder—what role do stem cells play in psychiatric disorders, if at all, and how are stem cells being applied to better understanding and possibly treating them? That’s the question I’ll be addressing today, with a particular focus on schizophrenia.

Why schizophrenia specifically? There’s quite a lot of research using stem cells to study this disease. It’s quite common too and affects roughly one per cent of the population globally. In addition, it has very drastic effects on patients’ lives. For instance, patients are at a higher risk for suicide, substance abuse and homelessness. The disorder also has a strong genetic component.