Patent ID: 7939262

Claim:
A method for diagnosing the likelihood of schizophrenia in a tested individual, comprising: (i) measuring mRNA of D3 dopamine receptor and of a control gene in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) of said tested individual and of a pool of two or more healthy individuals; (ii) calculating the ratio between the D3 dopamine receptor mRNA and the control gene mRNA for the tested individual and the pool of two or more healthy individuals; and (iii) comparing the ratios obtained in (ii) for the tested individual and for the pool of two or more healthy individuals, wherein an increase of above 1.6-fold in the D3 dopamine receptor mRNA/control gene mRNA ratio in the tested individual, in comparison to that of the pool of two or more healthy individuals, indicates that said tested individual has a higher likelihood of having schizophrenia than said healthy individuals.