Kenneth A. Perkins et al, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Test predicts risk of dementia Testing may make it possible to identify individuals at risk of dementia up to five years before the condition can be formally diagnosed, according to a new study. Researchers asked 264 elderly volunteers in the Bronx to recall a list of 48 words. With the development of new treatments for dementia, early diagnosis may significantly improve the prospects of those at risk. Ellen Grober et al, Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
Researchers believe they have discovered the location of a gene for susceptibility to schizophrenia.
Investigators at Rutgers University in New Jersey, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia studied 22 Canadian families in which several members had been diagnosed with schizophrenia or related conditions, such as schizoaffective disorder. They found highly significant linkage to a particular location on chromosome 1, while also confirming previous findings of linkage to a location on chromosome 13. Given the complexity of schizophrenia, the researchers say that it is likely that a number of genes are responsible for causing the illness. The study has narrowed down the location of a gene on chromosome 1, though has not yet determined which specific gene is responsible. However the researchers suggest that the magnitude of the linkage finding indicates that positional cloning of the gene should now be possible.