OC Foundation Genetics Collaborative Conference

描述（由申请人提供）：这是一个多年会议资助的竞争性更新，该资助支持了一个论坛，供研究人员进行强迫症（OCD）分子遗传学的合作研究。这一应用与NIMH促进会议的倡议是一致的，在会议上，研究人员聚集在一起，建立合作机制，以一种促进检测易导致精神疾病的基因的方式。目前，大约有60名研究人员参加了该小组的会议。这些人来自13个国家和美国的38个不同的研究中心。强迫症是一种严重的精神疾病，对成人和儿童都有衰弱的影响。遗传因素在强迫症中的重要性已被双胞胎和家庭聚集研究证明。此外，最近的分子遗传学研究已经开始提供证据，表明特定基因可能在该疾病的表现中发挥作用。尽管这些初步结果令人鼓舞，但一些因素表明，要完全阐明强迫症的遗传结构，需要大量的样本和合作努力。从正在进行的精神分裂症、自闭症、图雷特氏症、多动症和双相情感障碍的遗传学研究中可以清楚地看出，个体调查人员收集的样本可能不足以提供遗传联系的重要证据，这些研究与定位复杂疾病基因的统计学考虑是一致的。此外，一旦联系被证明，甚至需要更大的样本量来确定和表征易感基因。因此，很明显，需要协调合作来共享发现和汇集样本。这种类型的合作研究通常是困难的。在强迫症基金会的支持和NIMH的资助下，这组研究人员正在合作进行首个强迫症全基因组联合研究。目前，来自19个不同地点的调查人员已经同意将他们的强迫症样本结合起来。总样本包括大约4500个个体，1800个单例病例和800个由受影响的个体和两个父母组成的三联病例。预计该项评估结果将于2008年12月前公布。因此，本提案的目的是获得资金，使该小组能够继续开会，进一步建立专注于强迫症遗传学不同方面的合作工作组。这是在过去四年中资助强迫症基金会遗传学合作（OCFGC）会议的一项会议拨款的竞争性延续申请。OCFGC的主要目标是开展强迫症分子遗传学的合作研究。在过去的两年中，OCFGC进行了一项强迫症全基因组关联研究，旨在确定这种疾病的易感基因。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a competing renewal of a multi-year conference grant that has supported a forum for researchers to pursue collaborative studies of the molecular genetics of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This application is consistent with NIMH initiatives to facilitate meetings in which researchers come together to establish mechanisms for collaborating in a manner that would facilitate the detection of genes predisposing to psychiatric disorders. At the present time, there are approximately 60 researchers who have attended the meetings of this group. These individuals come from 38 different research centers in 13 foreign countries and the United States. OCD is a serious psychiatric condition that can have debilitating affects on both adults and children. The importance of genetic factors in OCD has been demonstrated by twin and family aggregation studies. Furthermore, recent molecular genetic studies have begun to provide evidence that specific genes may play a role in the manifestation of the disorder. Although these preliminary results are encouraging, several considerations suggest that fully clarifying the genetic architecture of OCD will require large samples and collaborative efforts. It is clear from ongoing studies of the genetics of schizophrenia, autism, Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome, ADHD and bipolar disorder that are consistent with statistical considerations regarding the power to locate genes for complex disorders, that samples collected by individual investigators may not be sufficiently large to provide significant evidence for genetic linkage. Furthermore, once linkage has been demonstrated, even larger samples sizes are needed to identify and characterize susceptibility genes. Thus, it is clear that coordinated collaboration is needed to share findings and pool samples. Cooperative research of this type is often difficult. With the support of the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation and this grant from NIMH, this group of investigators is collaborating on the first Genome Wide Association Study of OCD. At the present time, investigators from 19 different sites have agreed to combine their OCD samples. The total sample consists of approximately 4,500 individuals, 1,800 singleton cases and 800 triads consisting of an affected individual and two parents. It is expected that the results of this GWAS will be published before December 2008. Thus, the aim of this proposal is to obtain funding that will allow this group to continue meeting to further establish collaborative working groups focused on different aspects of the genetics of OCD. This is a competing continuation application of a meeting grant that has funded meetings of the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation Genetics Collaborative (OCFGC) over the last four years. The major goal of the OCFGC is to develop collaborative studies of the molecular genetics of obsessive- compulsive disorder. Over the last 2 years, the OCFGC has undertaken a Whole Genome Association Study for OCD that should identify susceptibility genes for this disorder.