Research into the causes of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and related illnesses

<BODY> <CENTER> <IMG SRC="banner.gif" ALT="Research into the causes of Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Related Illnesses" width="541" height="164" > </CENTER> <br> <CENTER> <FONT SIZE=+0> Vishwajit L. Nimgaonkar, M.D., Ph.D., Principal Investigator </FONT> </CENTER> <table align="center"> <tr> <td COLSTART="1" WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"> <FONT SIZE="+2" COLOR=#800040 FACE="Times New Roman"> <b> <H1> Welcome to the home site of our research group at the University of Pittsburgh! </H1> </b> </FONT> </td> </tr> </table> <center> <hr align="center"> </center> <FONT SIZE="+2"> <table align="center" valign="top"> <tr> <td COLSTART="1" WIDTH="400" ALIGN="left"> <ul> <li> You are seeing this page because you do not have a frames capable browser. Thats all right, you can still get to all the content by using the links at the bottom of the page. </li> </ul> <p> Our purpose here is to describe our various research projects at the University of Pittsburgh and elsewhere. We have just recently begun updating this site, and hopefully improving it. We hope to hear from you about it, either good or bad. <p> We also very much hope that you will find the material presented here both interesting and informative. <p> We wish you all the Best <br> --Study research staff <p> <B> <li> All of our most recent newsletters are in the <A HREF="newsletter.html">newsletters</A> section. They will give you a good idea of the current progress of our research. </li> </B> <br> <br> Visit our sister website at <A HREF="http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/research/neurogen/">The Bipolar Disorder Genetics Study</A> <hr align="center"> <B> <U> <FONT SIZE="+1"> A quick overview of our study... </FONT> </U> </B> <p> Our group at the University of Pittsburgh is seeking persons suffering from bipolar disorder or schizophrenia who are willing to take part in a research study. Our NIH funded studies focus on discovering genetic and environmental factors predisposing individuals towards these and related illnesses, with the ultimate goal of developing better treatments or preventative measures. <p> All we need from affected participants is several tablespoons of blood, and two to three hours for a clinical interview. In addition we need either an ill sibling willing to donate a blood sample and give a clinical interview, and/or a parent(s) willing to donate a blood sample. This is an international effort, and though the U.S. group is based in Pittsburgh, Pa, we have recruiters and interviewers based in the field that can in many cases meet with families far away from this area. Participants will receive $20 in appreciation for their time and trouble, and all expenses which might be incurred will be covered by us. <p> <B> Please contact for information about study participation: </B> Patrick Reitz, project coordinator <br> Toll free study hotline: 1-800-994-8182 <br> Office Phone: 412-624-9131 <br> Fax: 412-624-0446 <br> Email: reitzpm@msx.upmc.edu <br> </td> </tr> </table> </font> <CENTER> <FONT SIZE=+1>   </FONT> </CENTER> <CENTER> <hr align="center"> </CENTER> <CENTER> <FONT SIZE=2> <A HREF="research.html">how we are learning about schizophrenia</A> | <A HREF="help.html">how can you help us learn more?</A> |  <A HREF="participate.html">participate in our research</A> | <A HREF="publications.html">relevant publications</A> | <A HREF="staff.html">our project staff</A> | <A HREF="funding.html">how we are funded</A> | <A HREF="contact.html">contact us</A> | <A HREF="newsletter.html">newsletters</A> | <A HREF="other.html">other studies</A> | <A HREF="links.html">links</A> </font> </CENTER> <CENTER> <FONT SIZE=+2>   </FONT> </CENTER> <CENTER> <hr align="center"> </CENTER> This is the top page of this site We apreciate your interest in our research into the causes of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and related illnesses. Mental health care consumers might find this site of interest, as might their families This is the first issue of a newsletter describing our research into the causes of serious psychiatric illnesses like schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder. We aim to use it primarily to describe our progress for families which have participated in our studies. We would also like to help mental health consumers and their families by including a question-and-answer column. In this regard, we hope to receive questions from our readers. We are also open to other suggestions for improvement. <P> We have chosen "Concordance" as our title because of our desire for agreement. While almost everyone is in agreement about our need to know more about the causes of serious psychotic illnesses, there has been less agreement about what is established fact. We hope through our research to help establish consensus in this field. In order to do so, we rely on the kind help of several groups to increase participation in our studies - family support groups, clinicians, and most important, individuals with illnesses. We could not achieve what we have without the aid of these wonderful people. Our hope is that our discoveries will eventually lead to better treatments and possibly prevention of schizophrenia. <P> <b> What is known about the causes of schizophrenia? </b> <P> The widespread disagreement about causes has been alluded to above, but almost all concerned people agree that illnesses like schizophrenia can cluster in some families. This may be due to shared inherited factors and / or shared environments. It is our belief that the clustering in families, and indeed the causation of these illnesses in general, are due to interactions between inherited and non-inherited (environmental) factors. In support, it is widely accepted that among pairs of identical twins with one ill twin, the second of the pair is not invariably doomed to be ill. Thus, even among individuals who share virtually all their genetic material (and a good deal of their environment), the chances of falling ill are not identical. The difference in risk of illness among the well and ill identical twins is likely to be due to differences in interactions between their inherited factors and their respective environment. <P> Another neglected area of research is the likelihood of protective inherited and non-inherited factors. Indeed, the differences in risk of illness among identical twins could equally be explained due to such factors. We are keen to pursue these possibilities. <P> <b> How do we find the causes? </b> <p> Since the number of possible causative environmental factors is enormous, we have chosen to work first with inherited factors. We realize that such factors may not by themselves fully explain causation. Rather, they may be predisposing risk factors, in the same way that smoking predisposes to lung cancer. Once we have identified inherited predisposing factors, we hope to understand how they interact with non-inherited factors. Our initial study of inherited factors is comprised of two parts, one that compares well family members with those affected with schizophrenia, and one that compares pairs of ill siblings with each other. In view of the enormous number of possibilities (the number of genes in any human being are estimated at 1,00,000), it is necessary to survey a large number of participants. <P> To achieve our goal of concordance about causes, we wish to conduct our studies among a variety of ethnic groups. Hence, the study is being conducted in the United States, India and Canada. We are also collaborating with scientists in Singapore and Sweden. Our goal is to recruit 600 families in the USA alone over the next five years- a large task, but one we are confident of achieving with your help. <P> <b> How can you help us learn more? </b> <P> We are currently looking for families to help us learn more about the causes of schizophrenia. Individuals anywhere in the US are welcome to participate. The study requires help from the person with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or bipolar disorder. In addition, the participation of one or both parents, or an ill sibling is required. All participants need to give a small sample of their blood, and provide some information. This can be done wherever is most convenient for you. All information is strictly confidential. <P> <b> Progress to date </b> <P> We have already enlisted the co-operation of over 200 families for our research. Most of these families live in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. Approximately the same number of families have offered to participate, and we are in the process of interviewing them. We have received help from over 30 families in India. While these numbers are encouraging, we need to continue our survey apace. To this end, we are in the process of hiring more research associates in these regions. Many of our staff members belong to family support groups organized by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI). We hope thus to share our expertise and information with the communities we receive help from. <P> We have also begun laboratory analysis of blood samples. We have identified two inherited factors which may be involved in the causation of schizophrenia: the dopamine D3 receptor gene and the HLA DQB1 gene. We are pursuing these clues carefully. <P> Our research is funded by the Federal Government, through the National Institute of Health. We have also received support for our work in Canada from the Stanley Foundation. <P>   <hr align="center"> <h1> We want your input! </h1> <br> </BODY>