Genetics and Health

Identical Twins: One Schizophrenic, The Other Not

by Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD on August 7th, 2005

Twins are often mentioned in genetic studies because of their unique experience sharing not just genes, but their environment both in and out of the womb. Studying both identical/monozygotic twins (sharing 100 percent of their genes) and fraternal/dizygotic twins (sharing 50 percent of their genes like any regular sibling pair) is helpful in teasing apart the contributions of genes and environment to a particular trait or disease. For a number of different reasons, the number of fraternal twins are increasing, but the number of identical twins have stayed the same thus making them even more special than before.

In Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, identical twins Pamela Spiro Wagner and Dr. Carolyn Spiro write about their lives as twins and how it changed when Pamela, an award-winning poet and writer, developed schizophrenia in high school that remained undiagnosed for several years. It’s a poignant reminder that sharing all of your genes with someone doesn’t mean you both have the same risk of disease.

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POSTED IN: General Genetics and Health