Software for generating liability distributions for pedigrees conditional on their observed disease states and covariates.

For many multifactorial diseases, aetiology is poorly understood. A major research aim is the identification of disease predictors (environmental, biological, and genetic markers). In order to achieve this, a two-stage approach is proposed.

Gonadotropin hormone releasing hormone agonists alter prefrontal function during verbal encoding in young women.

Gonadotropin hormone releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) are commonly used in clinical practice to suppress gonadal hormone production in the management of various gynaecological conditions and as a treatment for advanced breast and prostate cancer. Animal and human behavioural studies suggest that GnRHa may also have significant effects on memory. However, despite the widespread use of GnRHa, the underlying brain networks and/or stages of memory processing that might be modulated by GnRHa remain poorly understood.

Episodic memory performance predicted by the 2bp deletion in exon 6 of the "alpha 7-like" nicotinic receptor subunit gene.

Objective: There is evidence of linkage between chromosome 15q14 and the P50 auditory evoked response, a heritable neuropsychological marker associated with increased risk of schizophrenia. Chromosome 15q14 harbors the alpha-7 nicotinic receptor subunit gene (CHRNA7) and a hybrid gene of unknown function (CHRFAM7A). CHRNA7 is involved in memory formation, a core dysfunction in schizophrenia.

Distribution of symptom dimensions across Kraepelinian divisions.

Background: Dimensional structures are established for many psychiatric diagnoses, but dimensions have not been compared between diagnostic groups.

Aims: To examine the structure of dimensions in psychosis, to analyse their correlations with disease characteristics and to assess the relative contribution of dimensions v. diagnosis in explaining these characteristics.

Dermatoglyphics and Schizophrenia: a meta-analysis and investigation of the impact of obstetric complications upon a-b ridge count.

Background: Patients with schizophrenia show deviances in their dermatoglyphics, in particular reductions in palmar a-b ridge counts (ABRCs), which are evidence of an early developmental deviance. However, the severity or the origin of these ABRC changes has not been established.

Method: (i) We examined the published literature on the ABRC in patients with schizophrenia against controls with a random effects meta-analysis.

Association between BDNF val66 met genotype and episodic memory.

The val66 met polymorphism of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been associated with variability in episodic memory [Egan et al., 2003]. In an attempt to replicate this finding, we genotyped 206 individuals (92 affected with schizophrenia or a related disorder and 114 unaffected relatives) from the Maudsley Family Study for the BDNF val66 met polymorphism.

Association of genetic risks for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with specific and generic brain structural endophenotypes.

Context: For more than a century, it has been uncertain whether or not the major diagnostic categories of psychosis--schizophrenia and bipolar disorder--are distinct disease entities with specific genetic causes and neuroanatomical substrates.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between genetic risk and structural variation throughout the entire brain in patients and their unaffected relatives sampled from multiply affected families with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Design: Analysis of the association between genetic risk and variation in tissue volume on magnetic resonance images.

Joint analysis of the DRD5 marker concludes association with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder confined to the predominantly inattentive and combined subtypes.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly heritable, heterogeneous disorder of early onset, consisting of a triad of symptoms: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. The disorder has a significant genetic component, and theories of etiology include abnormalities in the dopaminergic system, with DRD4, DAT1, SNAP25, and DRD5 being implicated as major susceptibility genes. An initial report of association between ADHD and the common 148-bp allele of a microsatellite marker located 18.

Familiality of clinical characteristics in schizophrenia.

Few studies have assessed the familiality of clinical characteristics in schizophrenia. Therefore, we set out to investigate the familiality of the following characteristics; age of onset, course of disorder, employment status at onset, impairment during disorder, marital status at onset, mode of onset and premorbid functioning. Clinical characteristics were recorded using the Operational Criteria Checklist for Psychotic Illness for 155 subjects with an RDC diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or psychosis of unknown origin, from 61 families multiply affected by schizophrenia.