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Anticipation in schizophrenia: new light on a controversial problem
P Gorwood1, M Leboyer, B Falissard
1Laboratoire d'Epidémiologie Génétique, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris, France.
The American Journal of Psychiatry
|September 1, 1996
Summary
Genetic anticipation, a pattern of decreasing age at onset in successive generations, was observed in schizophrenia patients. This finding supports the search for genetic factors contributing to schizophrenia.
Area of Science:
- Neurogenetics
- Psychiatric Genetics
Background:
- Anticipation is an inheritance pattern where disease severity increases or age at onset decreases across generations.
- Demonstrating anticipation in schizophrenia could elucidate the role of unstable DNA repeats.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate genetic anticipation in schizophrenia using a novel method to overcome ascertainment biases.
- To assess if age at onset decreases in successive generations of schizophrenic patients.
Main Methods:
- Studied 97 schizophrenic patients from 24 families with multiple affected generations in Reunion Island.
- Employed a method to calculate expected age at onset adjusted for the patient's age at interview.
Main Results:
- The observed age at onset in the younger generation (21.80 years) was significantly earlier than the expected age (24.95 years).
- Anticipation was confirmed after accounting for five potential confounding biases.
Conclusions:
- Evidence of genetic anticipation was found in the studied group of schizophrenic patients.
- This finding may guide research into identifying specific genes involved in schizophrenia development.