Genetic causality in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: out with the old and in with the new.
Schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder are highly heritable forms of major mental illness. Great hopes were held out for a major breakthrough with the advent of genome wide association studies, but to date there have been no obvious low hanging fruit. A richer harvest of strong candidates has however emerged from molecular cytogenetics and copy number variant mapping strategies promise to add more. Both strategies identify gene mutations, paving a direct path to biological studies and tests of causality. Risk genes and convergent biological pathways common to both disorders are being revealed, offering hope for a better understanding of aetiological factors and for the development of biomarkers to aid in diagnosis and prognosis.
Porteous
David
D
Medical Genetics Section, University of Edinburgh Centre for Molecular Medicine, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK. david.porteous@ed.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D020732:Cytogenetic Analysis / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D018628:Gene Dosage / Q000502:physiology; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006801:Humans; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics*
C412476:DISC1 protein, human; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins