title: Should be biologic marker be sensitive and specific?
abstract: Potential biologic markers in psychiatry are often subjected to tests of sensitivity and specificity. However, in many instances, clinically diagnosed diseases may not be truly singular in their pathophysiology, and these tests may be inappropriate. One may distinguish between diagnostic markers useful in clinical pathology, linkage markers specifying genetic location and pathophysiologic markers that are primarily valuable as research tools. The latter are probably most useful in present-day psychiatry but they may not be sensitive or specific in their correspondence to clinical diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis 46202-4887.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Nurnberger
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers; D003933:Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000235:genetics; D011570:Psychiatry
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005819:Genetic Markers