Scientists just turned down severe psychosis in children with a single amino acid that costs less than coffee. No gene editing. No heavy drugs. Just targeted biochemistry.
Data from 121 patients worldwide shows that, for some, severe mental illness is truly monogenic.
Think about that.
For decades, psychiatry insisted: hundreds of genes plus environment equals mental illness. Then researchers found GRIN2A null variants—broken copies of one gene—can directly cause schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety in children as young as 8.
In some cases, no seizures. No intellectual disability. Just isolated mental illness starting in childhood.
Traditional Psychiatry Reality:
↳ Trial-and-error medications for decades
↳ "Mysterious" early-onset psychosis
↳ Children labeled as permanently broken
The GRIN2A Discovery:
↳ Single gene = direct cause identified
↳ L-serine showing documented improvements
↳ Childhood onset explained molecularly
But here's what let's children be relieved:
Four patients with GRIN2A-null psychiatric disorders received L-serine—an amino acid that boosts NMDA receptor activity. All four showed documented clinical improvements. Reduced hallucinations. Less paranoia. Children emerging from psychosis using a supplement from any health store.
What changes everything:
↳ Genetic testing crucial for early-onset cases
↳ Targeted interventions complementing traditional drugs
↳ "Untreatable" becomes "specific circuit defect"
↳ Families get molecular answers, not stigma
The Multiplication Effect:
1 genetic test = precision diagnosis
10 identified variants = targeted protocols
100 research centers = new monogenic causes discovered
At scale = psychiatry becomes molecular medicine
24 million have schizophrenia worldwide. If GRIN2A explains 1%, that's 240,000 people who might benefit from targeted NMDA strategies—moving beyond one-size-fits-all drugs.
Children developing psychosis at 10 instead of 25—now we know why. Families watching deterioration—now they have a lever.
We spent a century treating mental illness as mysterious suffering.
Now it's becoming readable code.
Because when four children improve on L-serine—after conventional treatments had not resolved their symptoms—you realise:
The revolution isn't understanding that genes cause mental illness.
It's modulating the specific broken circuit instead of relying only on broad sedation.
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