Genetic research in psychiatry : update from the Society of Biological Psychiatry and the American Psychiatric Association, New York, May 1990

Summary — A stimulating variety of papers on genetic and elinical research in psychiatry was discussed at the latest meeting of the American Psychiatrie Association and the Society of Biological Psychiatry in May 1990 in New York. Conflicting results point out that extreme caution must be taken in interpreting linkage studies of psychiatrie disorders. Difficulties stem from complex rnodels on inheritance as well as the genetic heterogeneity of psychiatrie disorders. Progress lias been made in the approach to the régulation of receptor genes that hâve been implicated in the pathogenesis of psychiatrie disorders. In some cases, gene régulation may be tissue- dependent, as is suggested by the alternative splicing of D, receptor mRNA. tels que la complexité des modes de transmission génétique, l’hétérogénéité génétique et clinique des troubles, la difficulté de définir les phénotypes et la révélation tardive de certaines affections. La connaissance de la régulation des gènes impliqués dans les maladies mentales, notam­ ment celle des gènes des récepteurs D,, a aussi progressé notablement.