Genomewide Linkage Scan in Schizoaffective Disorder

The linkage findings strongly support the existence of loci that influence susceptibility across the functional psychosis spectrum, particularly on chromosome 22q11 that influences susceptibility to psychosis.

Abstract

Our linkage findings strongly support the existence of loci that influence susceptibility across the functional psychosis spectrum. The DISC1 gene lies within 2.5 megabases of our peak marker on chromosome 1q42 and has been previously implicated in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and, recently, schizoaffective disorder. Follow-up of this region should use samples enriched for cases of schizoaffective disorder. Our findings have similar implications for the search for genetic variation on chromosome 22q11 that influences susceptibility to psychosis.