Association analyses of the neuregulin 1 gene with schizophrenia and manic psychosis in a Hispanic population

Objective: This study used the population of the Central Valley of Costa Rica (CVCR) and phenotyping strategies alternative to DSMIV classifications to investigate the association of neuregulin 1 with schizophrenia. Method: Using 134 family trios with a history of psychosis, we genotyped six of the seven markers originally identified to be associated with schizophrenia in Iceland. Results: The neuregulin Icelandic haplotype was not associated with schizophrenia in the CVCR population. However, a novel haplotype was found to be overrepresented in subjects with functional psychosis (global P-value > 0.05). Stratification of the sample by history of mania suggests that this haplotype may be preferentially over-transmitted to persons with a history of manic psychosis. Conclusion: These results suggest that the neuregulin 1 gene is unlikely to play a major role in predisposing to schizophrenia in the CVCR. Further studies in the CVCR and other Latin American populations should be performed in order to corroborate these findings.