High rates of schizophrenia in adults with velo-cardio-facial syndrome

Murphy, K. C., Jones, L. A. and Owen, Michael John ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4798-0862 1999. High rates of schizophrenia in adults with velo-cardio-facial syndrome. Archives of General Psychiatry 56 (10) , pp. 940-945. 10.1001/archpsyc.56.10.940

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS), a syndrome characterized by an increased frequency of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, is associated with small interstitial deletions of chromosome 22q11. METHODS: We evaluated 50 adults with VCFS using a structured clinical interview (Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry or Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults With Developmental Disability if IQ <50) to establish a DSM-IV diagnosis. The schizophrenia phenotype in individuals with VCFS and schizophrenia was compared with a matched series of individuals with schizophrenia and without VCFS (n = 12). The King's Schizotypy Questionnaire was administered to individuals with VCFS (n = 41), their first-degree relatives (n = 68), and a series of unrelated normal controls (n = 316). All individuals with VCFS deleted for the N25 probe (n = 48) were genotyped for a genetic polymorphism in the COMT gene that results in variations in enzymatic activity. RESULTS: Fifteen individuals with VCFS (30%) had a psychotic disorder, with 24% (n = 12) fulfilling DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia. In addition, 6 (12%) had major depression without psychotic features. The individuals with schizophrenia had fewer negative symptoms and a relatively later age of onset compared with those with schizophrenia and without VCFS. We found no evidence that possession of the low-activity COMT allele was associated with schizophrenia in our sample of individuals with VCFS. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of schizophrenia in this group suggests that chromosome 22q11 might harbor a gene or genes relevant to the etiology of schizophrenia in the wider population.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Publisher:	JAMA
ISSN:	0003-990X
Last Modified:	31 Oct 2022 09:31
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/81354

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