A study aims to determine the genetic causes of schizophrenia within families.
Researchers will be working with families from the Pakistani community of West Yorkshire, most of whom are the children of settlers from the 1950s.
The two-year project, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), builds on research at Leeds that suggests the existence of a genetic mutation, possibly causing an inherited form of the illness.
Lead researcher Dr Steve Clapcote said: “If we can confirm which specific genes and processes are at fault, we can start to develop new treatments to target them.
“Our study is important because medicines currently used to treat schizophrenia aren’t effective in about a third of patients.”
The £400,000 MRC grant funds a team of Leeds University academics.
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