LINKAGE ANALYSIS OF PUTATIVE SCHIZOPHRENIA GENE CANDIDATE REGIONS ON CHROMOSOMES 3P, 5Q, 6P, 8P, 20P AND 22Q IN A POPULATION-BASED SAMPLED FINNISH FAMILY SET

During the past decade numerous studies have been published describing chromosomal regions potentially linked with schizophrenia. Unfortunat ely, none of these studies has been able to conclusively identify any specific gene that predisposes to schizophrenia. Typically evidence fo r linkage is seen on large chromosomal regions, as expected, containin g tens or even hundreds of genes. Furthermore, attempts to replicate t he findings have rarely been successful leaving a confusion about the existence of predisposing genes for schizophrenia in a particular regi on of the genome. We have carried out linkage analysis in a set of 62 pedigrees rising from a genetically isolated population of Finland wit h markers on six chromosomal regions earlier suggested to harbor predi sposing genes for schizophrenia, namely 3p,(1) 5q(2,3) 6p,(4) 8p,(1) 2 0p,(5) and 22q.(6,7) We were not able to find significant evidence for linkage on any of these chromosomal regions. However, some support fo r linkage was found on all studied chromosomal regions, except 3p.