BACKGROUND: Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS) is associated with interstitial deletions of chromosome 22q11. About 30% of patients with VCFS have psychosis, and the rate of these deletions in schizophrenia has been reported to be about 1%. Even higher rates of VCFS deletions have been reported for childhood-onset schizophrenia. AIMS: To test the hypothesis that there is an increased rate of VCFS among patients with early-onset psychosis (age at onset <18 years). We screened 192 early-onset patients and 329 patients with adult-onset schizophrenia. METHOD: We genotyped the patients and 444 healthy controls for hemizygosity of five microsatellite markers and one single nucleotide polymorphism that map to the 22q11-deleted region. RESULTS: One patient had a VCFS deletion, confirmed with semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. None of the controls showed a pattern of genotypes consistent with hemizygosity. CONCLUSIONS: VCFS may be less frequent among patients with psychosis than previously suggested; this rate is not increased among early-onset patients.
BACKGROUND:Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS) is associated with interstitial deletions of chromosome 22q11. About 30% of patients with VCFS have psychosis, and the rate of these deletions in schizophrenia has been reported to be about 1%. Even higher rates of VCFS deletions have been reported for childhood-onset schizophrenia. AIMS: To test the hypothesis that there is an increased rate of VCFS among patients with early-onset psychosis (age at onset <18 years). We screened 192 early-onset patients and 329 patients with adult-onset schizophrenia. METHOD: We genotyped the patients and 444 healthy controls for hemizygosity of five microsatellite markers and one single nucleotide polymorphism that map to the 22q11-deleted region. RESULTS: One patient had a VCFS deletion, confirmed with semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. None of the controls showed a pattern of genotypes consistent with hemizygosity. CONCLUSIONS:VCFS may be less frequent among patients with psychosis than previously suggested; this rate is not increased among early-onset patients.
Authors: Anne S Bassett; Gregory Costain; Wai Lun Alan Fung; Kathryn J Russell; Laura Pierce; Ronak Kapadia; Ronald F Carter; Eva W C Chow; Pamela J Forsythe Journal: J Psychiatr Res Date: 2010-11 Impact factor: 4.791
Authors: Mechteld L C Hoogendoorn; Jacob A S Vorstman; Gholam R Jalali; Jean-Paul Selten; Richard J Sinke; Beverly S Emanuel; René S Kahn Journal: Schizophr Res Date: 2007-10-26 Impact factor: 4.939
Authors: George Kirov; Detelina Grozeva; Nadine Norton; Dobril Ivanov; Kiran K Mantripragada; Peter Holmans; Nick Craddock; Michael J Owen; Michael C O'Donovan Journal: Hum Mol Genet Date: 2009-01-29 Impact factor: 6.150