7/30/2019 article in Five Major Psychiatric Disorders Share Genetic Link

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FFiivvee MMaajjoorr PPssyycchhiiaattrriicc DDiissoorrddeerrss SShhaarree GGeenneettiicc LLiinnkkMain Category: GeneticsAlso Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;Autism; SchizophreniaArticle Date: 28 Feb 2013 - 11:00 PSTWritten by Kelly FitzgeraldCopyright: Medical News Today

Five common psychiatric disorders -bipolar disorder, attention deficit-hyperactivitydisorder (ADHD), autism, major depressivedisorder, and schizophrenia - have been foundto have the same genetic risk factors.

Specifically, two variations in genes playa role in the balance of calcium in brain cells andare a common factor in a few of these disorders,and may be a goal for new treatments.

These new findings, published in The

Lancet, are from the biggest genetic studyanalyzing psychiatric illness, and could aid ineventually identifying these disorders based on

what causes them, rather than their symptoms.Jordan Smoller from Massachusetts

General Hospital in Boston, one of the leadresearchers explained:

"This analysis provides the first genome-wideevidence that individual and aggregate moleculargenetic risk factors are shared between five

childhood-onset or adult-onset psychiatricdisorders that are treated as distinct categories inclinical practice."

In an attempt to analyze the potential ofcommon genetic markers - or nucleotidepolymorphisms (SNPs) - that could influencesusceptibility to the five disorders, thePsychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC)reviewed the genome of 33,332 patients and27,888 control subjects of European descent.

They found four risk gene mutation

positions that have significant and similarassociations with all five diseases or disorders -regions on chromosomes 3p21 and 10q24, andSNPs in two genes that make up parts ofchannels that control the flow of calcium in thebrain cells.

The polygenic risk scores verified cross-disorder outcomes, most notably between adult-

onset disorders: schizophrenia, major depressivedisorder, and bipolar disorder.More in depth examination confirmed thatcalcium channel activity is a significant factor inthe development of all five disorders.Smoller said:

"Significant progress has been made inunderstanding the genetic risk factors underlyingpsychiatric disorders. Our results provide new

evidence that may inform a move beyonddescriptive syndromes in psychiatry and towardsclassification based on underlying causes. Thesefindings are particularly relevant in view of theimminent revision of classifications in theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of MentalDisorders (DSM) and the InternationalClassification of Diseases (ICD)."

In a linked editorial comment, AlessandroSerretti and Chiara Fabbri from the University of

Bologna in Italy mentioned:

"The present study might contribute to futurenosographic [classification] systems, which couldbe based not only on statistically determinedclinical categories, but also on biologicalpathogenic factors that are pivotal to theidentification of suitable treatments."

The authors conclude that with thesenew findings, psychiatric diseases or disorderscould be predicted and prevented by genetics in

the future.Geneticists are starting to identify gene

variants that occur in several psychiatricdisorders and/or diseases. Scientists from TheChildren's Hospital of Philadelphia said theyfound 25 extra gene variants occurring in somepeople with an autism spectrum disorder.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/genetics/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/psychology-psychiatry/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/autism/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/schizophrenia/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/schizophrenia/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/autism/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/psychology-psychiatry/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/genetics/