Genetic Research in Schizophrenia Using DNA Markers and Clinical Phenotypes

VA Office of Research and Development

Status: Completed

Conditions: Schizophrenia

Treatments: Other: Diagnostic

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT00108303

ADRD-007-03S

Details and patient eligibility

About

Schizophrenia has long been known to be an illness with significant evidence for a genetic predisposition. The purpose of this study is to determine the genetic abnormalities that cause childhood and adult onset schizophrenia.

Full description

It is known from genetic linkage and gene expression studies that the alpha 7 nicotinic receptor gene is abnormally expressed in people with schizophrenia. The immediate objectives of this proposal support the long-term objectives of a comprehensive description of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and new drug treatments by carefully defining the physiological genotype-phenotype relationship for a single candidate gene. Subjects and family members with a mental illness or who appear to have a mental illness will be asked to undergo an interview, perform some mental tests and have a blood, urine, and saliva sample taken one time.

Enrollment: 538 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 1 to 79 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Individuals thought to have schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, be the parent of such an individual, or be in the matched control group of unrelated individuals not thought to have schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder

Exclusion criteria

• Unable to give informed consent;
• Psychotic disorder judged to be secondary to substance abuse, psychotic disorder that appears to be secondary to a known medical or neurological disorder, or severe mental retardation

Trial design

538 participants in 1 patient group

Diagnostic

Description:

A diagnostic was performed

Treatment:

Other: Diagnostic