SCHIZOPHRENIA GENETICS AT THE MILLENNIUM - CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

As the new millennium approaches, research into the genetic aspects of schizophrenia has already made an impressive start toward an integrat ed model which is discovering roles for genetic agents, environmental agents and experiences, and chance factors. The best model follows tha t proposed for understanding such complex diseases as coronary artery disease and diabetes. Genetic information has come from both genetic e pidemiology and molecular genetics. Evidence for gene regions on 6p an d 8p gives the strongest support for harboring schizophrenia susceptib ility genes, based on international collaborative studies that ''gener ally'' replicate one another; evidence for regions on 3p, 5q, 9p, 20p, and 22q, while less compelling, will encourage focused work. Determin ing the steps between the regions and the phenotype will challenge the next generation of scientists.