[The association between the NRG1 gene polymorphism and cognitive functions in patients with schizophrenia and...

NRG1 is a strong candidate for schizophrenia though its role in the pathogenesis of the disease remains unknown. One of the approaches to study mechanisms underlying the association between NRG1 and schizophrenia is to investigate the association between a gene and an endophenotype of schizophrenia, e.g., cognitive dysfunctions. Authors looked for the association of 478B14-848 и 420M9-1395 microsatellites with semantic verbal fluency, working and episodic memory in 338 patents with schizophrenia, 162 their unaffected relatives and 316 healthy controls from the Russian population. It was found associations between allele 0 at 478B14-848 (220 bp) and long-term episodic memory and between allele 0 at 420M9-1395 (274 bp) and short-term memory in schizophrenic patients. The frequency of homozygotes for 420M9-1395 was higher in the group of patients as compared to controls. In conclusion, the risk allele 0 at 420M9-1395 is associated with the short-term memory deficit while allele 0 at 478B14-848 is protective for long-term memory deficits.