GENOME WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES IN SCHIZOPHRENIA AND BIPOLAR DISORDER (Badania asocjacyjne calego genomu w schizofrenii i zaburzeniach afektywnych dwubiegunowych)

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are heritable common disorders. Within the last years a number of genome wide association studies (GWAS) of schizophrenia and BP have been published. The study support strong evidence for association to specific risk loci, specifically for to zinc finger binding protein 804A (ZNF804A) locus for schizophrenia and for the calcium channel, voltage-dependent, L type, alpha 2C subunit (CACNA1C) and ankyrin 3 node of Ranvier (ANK3) loci in bipolar disorder. The ZNF804 and CACNA1C loci influence risk to both disorders. In schizophrenia a number of rare copy number variation have been detected (CNV), also CNV influence risk of other neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and mental retardation. The results of existing studies point to some likely pathophysiological mechanisms but also challenge our current concept of classification of psychiatric disorders.