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Effects of a neuregulin 1 variant on conversion to schizophrenia and schizophreniform disorder in people at high risk for psychosis

Molecular Psychiatry volume 14, pages 118–119 (2009)Cite this article

One of the most important challenges in the prediction and early diagnosis of psychosis is to decrease the rate of false-positive cases. Here, we report a variant of the neuregulin 1 (NRG1) gene (SNP8NRG243177/rs6994992, TT genotype), which is associated with 100% psychosis conversion rate during a 12-month follow-up period in people at high clinical risk for psychosis.

Recently, Hall et al.1 found that the SNP8NRG243177 risk allele of the NRG1 gene, but not other SNPs (http://www.decode.com/nrg1/markers), is specifically related to the development of psychosis. They investigated 79 high-risk subjects from families with at least two individuals with schizophrenia (Edinburgh High Risk Study). These high-risk subjects were followed up for up to 10 years. Results revealed that all 12 high-risk subjects with the T/T SNP8NRG243177 genotype (100%) developed psychosis. As an alternative of the traditional high-risk approach, which focuses on the long-term follow-up of individuals with affected family members and with higher genetic vulnerability, others attempted to define clinical high-risk syndromes (‘at-risk’ mental state) that precede frank psychosis in clinical settings.2, 3 However, it is unknown whether clinically ‘at-risk’ individuals, who develop psychosis, carry vulnerability genotypes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

    S Kéri & I Kiss

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Bács-Kiskun Country Hospital, Kecskemét, Hungary. E-mail: szkeri@phys.szote.u-szeged.hu,

    I Kiss & O Kelemen

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  1. S Kéri
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  2. I Kiss
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  3. O Kelemen
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Kéri, S., Kiss, I. & Kelemen, O. Effects of a neuregulin 1 variant on conversion to schizophrenia and schizophreniform disorder in people at high risk for psychosis. Mol Psychiatry 14, 118–119 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2008.1

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