Did You Know: Researchers discovered a gene associated with depression and bi-polar disorders.
Read Genes and Circuitry, Not Just Clinical Observation, to Guide Classification for Research about the overlap of depression and bipolar disorder on Chromosome 3, one of the many genes researchers believe will one day influence classification, diagnosis and treatment....
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News: Architecture of genetic risk for schizophrenia

News: Schizophrenia's genetic puzzle

News: Depression-gene link complex

News: Abuse modifies genetic make-up
Research shows that child abuse produces genetic changes, especially toleration for stress which is implicated in numerous psychiatric diagnosis. Research conducted at McGill University, Montreal, examined brain tissue of 24 suicide victims: 12 had histories of abuse as children and 12 did not. The findings fit into ongoing research about the roles of trauma and stress....
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News: Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder-shared qualities
An article in Advance Access Schizophrenia Bulletin discusses neurobiology and genetic studies about overlapping etiologic determinants" in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. (Abstract available; full text requires subscription.)...
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News: Schizophrenia: spontaneous mutations or heredity?
Research sponsored by NIMH indicates spontaneous genetic mutations can lead to vulnerabilities for schizophrenia. Previously attention weighed heavily on inherited genes. Patterns of spontaneous mutations were recently reported in cases of autism....
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News: A firewall between discrimination and genes
By a vote of 95-0, the Senate approved a measure that would protect against genetic profiling in employment or insurance, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The law would affect dozens of conditions influenced by genes. The National Human Genome Research Institute has encouraged people to take advantage of genetic testing. Numerous genes, and combinations, are thought to be implicated in disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, or anxiety disorder. Home kits are being marketed to people wanting to test for a...
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Commentary: Home genetic tests: science or marketing?


With daily updates about genetics, the direct-to-consumer marketing of testing kits is proliferating. Whom do these kits serve? asks Laura Hercher.


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News: Many genes cause schziophrenia
Two teams of research scientists have each concluded that schizophrenia is caused by ”hundreds of genes” which have anomalies creating complex pathways. The research was reported online in Science. Schizophrenia occurs in one percent of the population....
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News: Genes plus environment influence PTSD
A study (n= 900) published in the March 19th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) looks at the interaction of genes, stress and child abuse as risk factor for adult PTSD. The study was conducted in urban clinics and nearly all participants were African-American....
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News: Genes, race, medication
An NIMH-funded study (appearing in January issue of Biological Psychiatry) reports variations on the same gene, RGS4, have highly predictive values for response to antipsychotic medication, and that they are associated with ethnic differences. Groups were categorized by those with African, European, or “other” backgrounds, and some medication worked well with one group and not at all with another. The sample (n=678) was exposed to five different medications....
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News: Dopamine, ADHD and addiction
Two articles in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry address the importance of dopamine for ADHD. This comes shortly after a report about pregnant women who were exposed to nicotine during their second and third trimesters, months of brain development. The study (N=204) in the July issue of Child Psychiatry and Human Development showed their children had more symptoms of ADHD. In a July conversation with Terry Gross on Fresh Air, Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National...
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News: Targeting medication by genes
The August issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry reports some people have a genetic predisposition to respond to the antidepressant citalopram (Celexa). The NIMH research was based on DNA collected in the clinical trial Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D). "We're moving steadily closer to being able to personalize treatments based on patients' genetic variations." said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel, MD....
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News: $100 million to Harvard and MIT for genetic research
The Maryland philanthropy, the Stanley Foundation, has given $100 million to the Broad Institute to unlock the genetics of serious mental illness. Research will examine the DNA of people diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Broad is located at Harvrd University and MIT....
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News: Genetic research showing results
The Medical Journal of Medical Genetics reports promising genetic research into panic disorder, substance abuse and addictive disorders from Iowa University. One report links panic disorder to white blood cells, prompting the work to develop of a commercially available diagnostic blood test....
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News: NIH discovers a new gene“master switch” for intelligence and schizophrenia
Scientists at the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) have discovered a single gene that plays a role in intelligence but also in schizophrenia. The gene, DARPP-32, controls the developing of circuits of information in the frontal cortex. This discovery links schizophrenia to intelligence in a way that’s not been understood before....
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