Can in vitro fertilization be used as a method to ensure that your child won't develop schizophrenia?

Answer 1

The short answer is "no".

The long answer: While schizophrenia has a significant genetic component, there are other factors which are involved in the development of schizophrenia in later life, including brain injury due to lack of oxygen at birth, certain infections ocurring while in the womb, traumatic and stressful events over the course of life, and use of certain drugs, especially during adolescence. Furthermore, the genetic basis for schizophrenia is complex, and so far, not well understood. There are multible genes, mutations in which are known to be related to an increased risk of developing schizophrenia later, and likely, there are other, so far unknown genes which may contribute to this risk. The way in which the products of these genes interact with one another, and the effect the environment has on the expression of these genes is not fully understood. So even if it was possible (which theoretically, it is) to screen an embryo for specific genetic abnormalities linked with schizophrenia (for example, if a parent had a known mutation linked with schizophrenia), it would be impossible to be sure that no other genetic risks had been passed down, making the risks of such a procedure outweigh the potential benefits. At least until the genetic basis of schizophrenia is more fully understood. Even if we had a 100% understanding of the genetic basis of schizophrneia, embryo selection would not provide protection against the other (non-genetic) risk factors mentioned above, though it may reduce the likelyhood that exposure to these would produce schizophrenia.

Hope this answers your question.