An Association Study of the Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 6 Gene With Periodic Psychosis

OBJECTIVE: Recent molecular and genetic investigations have suggested that the current nosology for major psychiatric disorders, based on the "two-entities-principal" is not accurate with respect to clinical observations; patient groups that do not fit to the current operative diagnostic boundaries are readily identified. We aimed to perform an investigation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) gene (located on 12q13), which has an important role in the apoptotic cascade, with patients suffering from periodic psychosis. METHODS: Genetic association study has been employed for the current work. Investigated six tag-SNPs were chosen from Hapmap database. RESULTS: Among six tag-SNPs, one marker (rs10783813), located in the STAT6 gene, showed modest association (p<0.05), although no marker or haplotype block showed association after Bonferroni's correction. CONCLUSION: Future studies will reveal the etiological role of STAT6, and of other genes of the apoptotic cascade, in major psychiatric disorders.