[Family with a high frequency of schizophrenic disorder. Preliminary report]

We studied the clinical features of seven schizophrenic patients detected in seven generations of a pedigree where a high incidence of psychiatric diseases was found. Two psychiatrists, acting independently, conducted a clinical evaluation of each patient using DSM-III and DSM-III-R criteria. Four of the schizophrenic patients are siblings and come from a schizophrenic mother, who also has a brother and a cousin affected with this disorder. Four of the patients were diagnosed as Paranoid; two as Undifferentiated and one patient as Residual Schizophrenia. The family members are exposed to the same psychosocial and environmental influences including climate, nutrition and health care. Most of the patients in this family are male. We found an elevated consanguinity rate. Our findings show the high familiar prevalence of Schizophrenia. In this family the disease seems to be inherited as an autosomal recessive disorder.