OC Foundation Genetics Collaborative Conference

描述(由申请人提供)：这是一项多年会议拨款的竞争性续订，该基金支持研究人员开展强迫症(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，在这些会议上，研究人员聚集在一起，以一种有助于检测易患精神疾病的基因的方式建立合作机制。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，对成年人和儿童都会产生衰弱的影响。遗传因素在强迫症中的重要性已被双胞胎和家庭聚集性研究证明。此外，最近的分子遗传学研究已经开始提供证据，证明特定的基因可能在这种疾病的表现中发挥作用。尽管这些初步结果令人鼓舞，但一些考虑表明，充分阐明强迫症的遗传结构将需要大样本和合作努力。从正在进行的精神分裂症、自闭症、抽动症、多动症和双相情感障碍的遗传学研究中可以清楚地看出，个别研究人员收集的样本可能不够大，不足以为遗传联系提供重要证据。这些研究符合关于复杂疾病基因定位能力的统计考虑。此外，一旦证实了连锁，就需要更大的样本量来识别和表征易感基因。因此，显然需要进行协调合作，以分享调查结果和汇集样本。这种类型的合作研究往往是困难的。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关联研究。目前，来自19个不同地点的调查人员已同意合并他们的强迫症样本。样本总数包括约4,500名个人、1,800名单身人士和800名三合会成员，其中包括一名受影响人士和两名父母。预计这次全球气候变化大会的结果将在2008年12月之前公布。因此，这项提议的目的是获得资金，使该小组能够继续开会，进一步建立以强迫症遗传学不同方面为重点的合作工作组。这是一项会议补助金的竞争性延续申请，该补助金在过去四年里资助了强迫症基金会遗传学合作组织(OCFGC)的会议。OCFGC的主要目标是开展强迫症分子遗传学的合作研究。在过去的两年里，OCFGC进行了一项针对强迫症的全基因组协会研究，该研究应该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.