TY - JOUR

T1 - The Danish 22q11 research initiative

AU - Schmock, Henriette

AU - Vangkilde, Anders

AU - Larsen, Kit Melissa

AU - Fischer, Elvira

AU - Birknow, Michelle Rosgaard

AU - Jepsen, Jens Richardt Møllegaard

AU - Olesen, Charlotte

AU - Skovby, Flemming

AU - Plessen, Kerstin Jessica

AU - Mørup, Morten

AU - Hulme, Ollie

AU - Baaré, William Frans Christiaan

AU - Didriksen, Michael

AU - Siebner, Hartwig Roman

AU - Werge, Thomas

AU - Olsen, Line

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - BACKGROUND: Neurodevelopmental brain disorders such as schizophrenia, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are complex disorders with heterogeneous etiologies. Schizophrenia and autism are difficult to treat and often cause major individual suffering largely owing to our limited understanding of the disease biology. Thus our understanding of the biological pathogenesis needs to be substantiated to enable development of more targeted treatment options with improved efficacy. Insights into the pre-morbid disease dynamics, the morbid condition and the underlying biological disease mechanisms may come from studies of subjects with homogenous etiologies. Breakthroughs in psychiatric genetics have shown that several genetic anomalies predispose for neurodevelopmental brain disorders. We have established a Danish research initiative to study the common microdeletion at chromosome 22q11.2, which is one of the genetic anomalies that confer high risk of schizophrenia, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.METHODS/DESIGN: The study applies a "cause-to-outcome" strategy to identify pre-morbid pathogenesis and underlying biological disease mechanisms of psychosis and secondarily the morbid condition of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. We use a population based epidemiological design to inform on disease prevalence, environmental risk factors and familial disposition for mental health disorders and a case control study design to map the functional effects across behavioral and neurophysiological traits of the 22q11 deletion in a recruited sample of Danish individuals.DISCUSSION: Identification of predictive pre-morbid clinical, cognitive, functional and structural brain alterations in 22q11 deletion carriers may alter current clinical practice from symptomatic therapy of manifest mental illness into early intervention strategies, which may also be applicable to at risk subjects without known etiology. Hopefully new insights into the biological disease mechanisms, which are mandatory for novel drug developments, can improve the outcome of the pharmacological interventions in psychiatry.

AB - BACKGROUND: Neurodevelopmental brain disorders such as schizophrenia, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are complex disorders with heterogeneous etiologies. Schizophrenia and autism are difficult to treat and often cause major individual suffering largely owing to our limited understanding of the disease biology. Thus our understanding of the biological pathogenesis needs to be substantiated to enable development of more targeted treatment options with improved efficacy. Insights into the pre-morbid disease dynamics, the morbid condition and the underlying biological disease mechanisms may come from studies of subjects with homogenous etiologies. Breakthroughs in psychiatric genetics have shown that several genetic anomalies predispose for neurodevelopmental brain disorders. We have established a Danish research initiative to study the common microdeletion at chromosome 22q11.2, which is one of the genetic anomalies that confer high risk of schizophrenia, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.METHODS/DESIGN: The study applies a "cause-to-outcome" strategy to identify pre-morbid pathogenesis and underlying biological disease mechanisms of psychosis and secondarily the morbid condition of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. We use a population based epidemiological design to inform on disease prevalence, environmental risk factors and familial disposition for mental health disorders and a case control study design to map the functional effects across behavioral and neurophysiological traits of the 22q11 deletion in a recruited sample of Danish individuals.DISCUSSION: Identification of predictive pre-morbid clinical, cognitive, functional and structural brain alterations in 22q11 deletion carriers may alter current clinical practice from symptomatic therapy of manifest mental illness into early intervention strategies, which may also be applicable to at risk subjects without known etiology. Hopefully new insights into the biological disease mechanisms, which are mandatory for novel drug developments, can improve the outcome of the pharmacological interventions in psychiatry.

KW - Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity

KW - Autistic Disorder

KW - Case-Control Studies

KW - Child

KW - Child Health Services

KW - Chromosome Aberrations

KW - Chromosomes, Human, Pair 22

KW - Denmark

KW - Humans

KW - Mental Health Services

KW - Research Design

KW - Schizophrenia

U2 - 10.1186/s12888-015-0594-7

DO - 10.1186/s12888-015-0594-7

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 26384214

VL - 15

SP - 1

EP - 12

JO - B M C Psychiatry

JF - B M C Psychiatry

SN - 1471-244X

M1 - 220

ER -