No evidence for linkage between chromosome 5 markers and schizophrenia

Linkage between chromosome 5 markers and schizophrenia has been proposed for a small number of Icelandic and English families. Three subsequent reports have failed to replicate this report. To increase the number of tested kindreds, we collected seven North American families with schizophrenia and genotyped them at 4 loci that span the region 5p13-5q11-14, including the two markers used in the single positive linkage report. The data were analyzed with models of affection status similar to those utilized in the positive report. We observed no evidence of linkage between these markers and psychiatric disorders, regardless of the definition of affection status. Additionally, we can exclude most of the region for linkage with schizophrenia in these families. This and other negative reports of linkage between schizophrenia and chromosome 5 markers suggest that genetic defects in this region are rarely, if ever, etiologically related to schizophrenia.