When the study was published, in 2014, this was, to the authors knowledge, the largest molecular genetic study into any neurological disorder ever undertaken.[PGC, 2014] The size of the sample was of paramount concern from the outset, because it was postulated that sample size was the most important limiting factor when applying genome-wide association study (GWAS) techniques to schizophrenia.[PGC, 2014] In order to achieve this, all the available schizophrenia samples (whether published or not) were combined into a single sample.[PGC, 2014] This sample included case–control samples of European and Asian ancestry.[PGC, 2014]
Many of the novel genes identified by the GWAS are not randomly distributed across genes of all classes and function, but rather converged on genes expressed in certain tissues and cell types.[PGC, 2014] Potentially, many of these novel findings provide a foundation for mechanistic studies into the pathology of schizophrenia, and the possibility of new treatments that stem from this new understanding.[PGC, 2014]
Reference:
Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Biological insights from 108 schizophrenia-associated genetic loci. Nature 2014; 511 (7510): 421–427.
Ma C, Gu C, Huo Y, et al. The integrated landscape of causal genes and pathways in schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry 2018; 8 (1): 67.