GENETIC MARKERS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

摘要

The present invention provides a method of diagnosing a predisposition of a subject to schizophrenia, by detecting the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the golli-MBP region of the MBP (myelin basic protein) gene. This can be achieved by determining allelic variants of the golli-MBP region of the MBP gene (golli-MBP), wherein the presence of a risk-haplotype is associated with predisposition to schizophrenia and the presence of a protective-haplotype is associated with non-schizophrenic subjects. The invention further provides nucleic acid probes which allow detection of the SNPs, as well as kits comprising them. The invention further relates to the association of these SNPs with brain morphology changes.