Family Studies in Genetic Disorders

Family-genetic studies of psychiatric disorders. Developing technologies.

During the past decade new concepts and technologies have improved the conduct of family-genetic studies in psychiatry. We compiled and critically evaluated these advances, including study design, pedigree collection, diagnostic procedures in adults and children, and epidemiologic and genetic approaches to data analysis. These approaches have improved the collection of accurate information on t...

Family genetic studies.

Genetic and genomic discovery using family studies.

Genetic studies traditionally have been performed on sets of related individuals, that is, families. Mendel’s early studies in sweet peas (Pisum sativum) on the inheritance patterns of discrete traits from parents with specific mating types to offspring has shed light on the basic mechanisms of inheritance, including the fundamental laws of segregation of discrete factors (genes) from parents t...

Ethical issues in genetic linkage studies of psychiatric disorders.

Recent advances in molecular genetics have radically altered the prospects for determining the role of heredity in the transmission of major psychiatric disorders. Identification of the actual gene(s) involved, elucidation of their structure, and determination of their products are the steps which theoretically follow successful demonstration of linkage (Gurling, 1985; Baron & Rainer, 1988). Co...

The Informed Consent Process in Genetic Family Studies

The informed consent process provides protection by ensuring that potential research subjects understand the goals of the research project they are being asked to voluntarily partake in as well as the risks associated with the study. We examined subjects’ comprehension and ability to identify issues explicitly raised during the consent process that was conducted as part of their participation i...