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Welcome... to the Clinical Genetics Research Program's (CGRP) home on the net. The CGRP is located at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. 

The CGRP headed by Dr. Anne Bassett, has been working for many years to locate genes that may predispose an individual to schizophrenia. We study the genetic subtypes of schizophrenia. Our family linkage study of familial schizophrenia, focuses on large Canadian families with several members who have schizophrenia or related illnesses. We have strong evidence for schizophrenia susceptibility loci (neighbourhoods where genes for schizophrenia are likely to be) on both chromosome 1 and chromosome 13. On chromosome 1 we have identified a gene called CAPON as a gene that may be important in schizophrenia.

Our group is also an international leader in studying 22q11 Deletion Syndrome (22qDS), a genetic syndrome associated with a small deletion (missing section of DNA) on chromosome 22.  22qDS is a genetic syndrome associated with multiple features, including birth defects, physical conditions and learning difficulties. About 1 to 2 of every 100 individuals with schizophrenia have 22qDS.

The main goal of genetic studies of schizophrenia is to understand the underlying mechanism of the disease so that better, more specific treatments may be developed. Genetic testing for schizophrenia is not currently available, but when specific genes are discovered they will serve as an important guide for a further understanding of schizophrenia. 

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