A Schizophrenia Gene Locus on Chromosome 17q21 in a New Set of Families of Mexican and Central American Ancestry: Evidence From the NIMH Genetics of Schizophrenia in Latino Populations Study

Abstract

The new set of 175 families of Mexican and Central American ancestry delineates two new loci likely to harbor predisposition genes for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. The region with the strongest support for linkage in this sample, 17q21, has been implicated in meta-analyses of schizophrenia genome screens, but the authors found no previous reports of it as a locus for schizophrenia in specific population- or family-based studies, and it may represent the location of a schizophrenia predisposition gene (or genes) of special relevance in Mexican and Central American populations.