Corsico A, McGuffin P
Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK.
Epidemiol Psichiatr Soc. 2001 Oct-Dec;10(4):253-9. doi: 10.1017/s1121189x0000542x.
To present an overview on current progress and future directions in psychiatric genetics.
The review of studies that have demonstrated a genetic contribution to a wide range of psychopathology using family, twin, adoption studies and exploration of the methods and limitations of molecular genetic studies.
Single gene disorders has been the area that is most straightforward with striking advances in disorders such as Huntington Disease and early onset familial Alzheimer disease. Complex phenotypes such as schizophrenia and affective disorder have presented greater difficulties but late onset Alzheimer disease and dyslexia are examples where replicated molecular genetic findings suggest that gene identification is feasible even for multifactorial disorders.
The combination of increasingly complete information on the genome together with accessibility to this on the internet provide the essential tools for the search for susceptibility genes. Another essential requirement in trying to identify genes of small effect is well characterized large scale collections of cases and this demands the interaction of epidemiological and clinical researchers. Advances in genomics will also allow tailoring of pharmaceuticals pointing at treatment response and side effects. Hopefully all this perspectives together, will improve our understanding of the neurobiological pathogenesis of diseases such as Schizophrenia, Depression and Bipolar disorder 'legitimizing' them in the public view.
