von Willebrand's disease and psychotic disorders: co-segregation and genetic associations.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate co-segregation and genetic associations between von Willebrand's disease (vWD) and psychotic disorders.


METHODS
The study was initiated following ascertainment of a nuclear family in which four members were diagnosed with vWD and psychotic/mood disorders. As co-segregation was uncertain in the extended pedigree, we also investigated population-based linkage and association using polymorphisms of vWF, the gene conferring susceptibility to vWD. Three common vWF polymorphisms were investigated among 194 patients with psychotic disorders (bipolar I disorder, BD I; schizoaffective disorder, SZA and schizophrenia, SZ) and their parents. The cases were also compared with unrelated population-based controls (n = 183).


RESULTS
The transmission disequilibrium test and related analyses suggested nominally significant transmission distortion of one allele and related haplotypes to the probands from their parents. The most significant results were obtained among patients with BD I, and similar trends were also evident in the SZ sample. Comparisons between the cases and population-based controls did not reveal associations, though marginally significant case-control differences were obtained in the BD I sample.


CONCLUSIONS
These studies are consistent with association and linkage between vWF and BD I. However, given the relatively small sample, stochastic variation is an alternative explanation.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Graduate School of Public Health, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Yu-Sang
YS
Lee
Mary
M
Miller
Andrea Cortese
AC
Hassett
Byung-Yeon
BY
Lee-Kim
Jung Jin
JJ
Kim
Michelle
M
Haracznak
Swati
S
Ranade
Joel
J
Wood
Ravinder
R
Reddy
David J
DJ
Kupfer
Franklin
F
Bontempo
Vishwajit L
VL
Nimgaonkar
D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D005260:Female; D008040:Genetic Linkage / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008297:Male; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D014842:von Willebrand Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*