RAPID PUBLICATION - LINKAGE ANALYSES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA TO CHROMOSOME 6P24-P22 - AN ATTEMPT TO REPLICATE

The present study evaluates evidence for linkage of schizophrenia to c hromosome 6p24-p22. An independent sample of 211 families ascertained on the basis of having an affected sib-pair diagnosed with schizophren ia or schizoaffective disorder was assessed with seventeen polymorphic markers spanning a 37 cM region. Linkage analysis was performed with parametric and non-parametric methods to test for cosegregation using 4 models of inheritance. Neither two-point nor multipoint non-parametr ic analyses reached significance at a level less than 0.01 for any mar kers examined in the region and lod score analyses were not suggestive of linkage. Based on initial findings in the present data set and rec ently published linkage results, two specific areas were densely cover ed with markers and tested for linkage disequilibrium. After correctin g for multiple comparisons within each locus, no significant deviation from expected allele transmission ratios was observed. The present fi ndings together with the published literature fail to find consistent evidence of a linkage for schizophrenia to a single locus on chromosom e 6.