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Abstract: Few brain imaging studies of schizophrenia involve samples with enhanced genetic homogeneity. We compared MRI volumetric data between individuals with 1q21–q23 linked familial schizophrenia associated with NOS1AP and their first and second degree unaffected relatives. We found significant gray matter reductions in the anterior cingulate gyrus in both affected individuals and their unaffected first degree relatives when compared with their unaffected second degree relatives. These results suggest that the changes are primarily due to genetic risk and not illness effects, and may represent an intermediate phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There is some evidence that childhood adversity may be associated with the expression of schizophrenia but whether genetic risk affects this finding is unknown. We investigated the history of early trauma in 194 subjects from 24 multiply affected families where schizophrenia was previously shown to be associated with a functional allele in the NOS1AP gene. In subjects with schizophrenia (n=79), only events prior to the onset of psychosis were considered. Generalized estimating equation models that adjusted for familial clustering were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Subjects with narrowly defined schizophrenia were more likely than their unaffected family members to have a history of early trauma (adjusted OR=4.17, 95% CI=1.52, 11.44). The results were similar after adjusting for the NOS1AP risk genotype (adjusted OR=3.57, 95% CI=1.32, 9.65) and for maternal or paternal history of schizophrenia (adjusted ORs=3.27, 95% CI=1.45, 7.38; 4.38, 95% CI=1.61, 11.91, respectively). The results suggest that childhood trauma is associated with expression of schizophrenia independent of measured genetic susceptibility and may be a candidate for gene-environment research using genetic variants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There are few studies of environmental factors in familial forms of schizophrenia. We investigated whether childhood adversity or environmental factors were associated with schizophrenia in a familial sample where schizophrenia is associated with the NOSA1P gene. We found that a cumulative adversity index including childhood illness, family instability and cannabis use was significantly associated with narrow schizophrenia, independent of NOSA1P risk genotype, previously measured childhood trauma, covariates and familial clustering (adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval)=1.55 (1.01, 2.38)). The results provide further support that early environmental exposures influence schizophrenia expression even in the presence of strong genetic predisposition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]