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Biomedical subjects

V L Tanna

Publications and source records attributed to V L Tanna.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Alpha 2 adrenergic receptor subtypes in depression: a candidate gene study.

Alpha 2 adrenergic receptors play an important role in regulating the neuronal release of norepinephrine through presynaptic feedback inhibition in the locus ceruleus. Therefore, alpha 2 adrenergic autoreceptors may underlie some aspects of the pathogenesis and symptomatic expression of depressive illness. We studied two brain-expressed alpha 2 adrenergic receptor genes as genetic markers in linkage analyses in 17 multiplex pedigrees of unipolar depression. Neither of the genes was supportive of linkage to depression. Lod scores of less than -2 were found in both familial pure depressive disease pedigrees and in depression spectrum disease pedigrees. Therefore, we conclude that depression in our pedigrees is not related to mutations in the two alpha 2 adrenergic receptor genes tested.

Adult↗

Close linkage of esterase-D to unipolar depression and alcoholism is ruled out in eight pedigrees.

Unipolar depression and alcoholism were tested for genetic linkage to esterase-D at 13q14.1. Tight linkage to esterase-D was ruled out for three phenotypes using three models of penetrance: (1) unipolar depression and alcoholism taken together as affected, (2) unipolar depression alone as affected with alcoholism considered unaffected and (3) alcoholism alone as affected with unipolar depression considered unaffected. This study does not support an earlier finding of possible linkage between the esterase-D locus at 13q14.1 and alcoholism.

Adolescent↗

Linkage of c-Harvey-ras-1 and INS DNA markers to unipolar depression and alcoholism is ruled out in 18 families.

Eighteen families informative for c-Harvey-ras-1 and INS DNA markers were tested for linkage to unipolar depression and alcoholism. No evidence of linkage was found between these DNA markers and the disorders observed in the families. This study fails to replicate the Old Order Amish Study and suggests that a significant degree of genetic heterogeneity may be present among psychiatric disorders.

Adolescent↗

Linkage analysis of depression spectrum disease.

As part of a study of the possible subgroups of unipolar affective disease, 27 families were ascertained as depression spectrum disease (DSD) families. The purpose of this study was an investigation of the linkage relationships between DSD and 30 genetic markers using the robust sib-pair and lod-score methods. Using the sib-pair methods, evidence for linkage was found with orosomucoid (ORM) on chromosome 9q (p = 0.006), regardless of whether only individuals with unipolar depression, alcoholism, or antisocial personality were considered to be affected, or whether individuals with any psychiatric disorder were considered to be affected. Weak evidence of linkage with ORM was corroborated using lod-score methods when a narrow definition of depression spectrum disease was used, although stronger evidence of linkage was found with ORM when any psychiatric disorder was considered to be affected. The maximum lod-score for ORM was 1.68 at a male recombination fraction of 0.23 and a female recombination fraction of 0.01.

Adult↗

Linkage analysis of pure depressive disease.

In a study of the subgroups of unipolar affective disease, 13 families were ascertained as pure depressive disease (PDD) families. Here we investigate linkage relationships between PDD and 30 genetic markers in these families. Using the robust sib-pair method of linkage analysis, evidence for possible linkage or association was found with five loci: the ABO and MNS blood groups, immunoglobulin kappa (IGK), proline rich parotid salivary protein (PR) and glyoxylase-1 (GLO1). Weak evidence of linkage with ABO was supported using the lod score method of analysis. The maximum lod score between PDD and ABO was 1.42 at a male recombination fraction of 0.09 and a female recombination fraction of 0.03. When these results from the sib-pair analysis were combined with the results from two previous sib-pair studies on PDD, the ABO, MNS and IGK loci were found to be significant (P = 0.05, P = 0.005, P = 0.05, respectively, not allowing for multiple tests).

Adolescent↗

Possible linkage between alcoholism and esterase-D.

Association and linkage relationships between alcoholism and 30 polymorphic marker loci were studied in a total of 42 families: 27 families originally collected as part of a study on depression spectrum disease, 14 previously reported families with depression spectrum disease, and 1 family with familial alcoholism. Since heterogeneity within a sample can confound genetic linkage analysis, obscuring linkage relationships, alcoholism was studied in these families as a disorder unrelated to depression or antisocial personality. No allelic associations were found to be significant after allowing for the multiple tests. In a sib-pair linkage analysis, significant differences between the mean proportion of genes identical by descent in concordant and discordant sib pairs were found for the esterase-D (ESD) marker locus (p less than or equal to .01). This suggested that a linkage may exist between a gene for alcoholism and the ESD locus on chromosome 13q. Lod score linkage analysis yielded odds in favor of linkage to ESD of 44 to 1, most of the information relevant to linkage residing in a single family in which three offspring were classified as alcoholic and five were not.

Adult↗

Schizophrenia-primary affective disorder discrimination. I. Development of a data-based diagnostic index.

A nine-variable diagnostic measure for discriminating schizophrenia and primary affective disorder was developed. The nine variables, which were selected by discriminant function analysis, reflect past and current symptomatology, duration of symptoms, and behavioral ratings. The measure was cross-validated by a jackknife procedure that accurately classified nine of ten of the cases. Such accuracy suggests that brief, data-based diagnostic instruments have considerable promise as practical checks of clinical diagnoses.

Adult↗

Alcoholism, depression, and life events.

Alcoholics with and without secondary depression were compared on a wide variety of clinical variables. Subjects with secondary depression reported more fights, arrests, neurotic complaints, suicidal behavior, and recent undesirable life events than subjects with alcoholism alone. The data indicate a close relationship between negative events and the secondary depression of alcoholism. In addition, the findings suggest that the alcoholic with secondary depression is at greater risk for suicide than the alcoholic without a depressive syndrome.

Adult↗

Possible linkage between alpha-haptoglobin (Hp) and depression spectrum disease.

Depression spectrum disease is an unipolar depressive illness in which at least one member of the family has unipolar depression and at least one other first degree relative has alcoholism and/or antisocial personality; using this definition, 14 depression spectrum disease families are studied. Assuming, among other things, that variability in age of onset is environmentally caused and lognormally distributed, segregation analysis shows that the data are compatible with the dichotomy of 'affected' versus 'not affected' being due to an autosomal dominant gene. A simple environmental hypothesis in which the transmission of the illness does not depend upon the parents' type could be rejected (p less than 0.001). Linkage analysis is performed by the method of maximum likelihood, taking the best fitting Mendelian model found in the segregation analysis. The results show virtually no evidence of linkage between depression spectrum disease and C3, but suggestive evidence (lod score = 1.03) of linkage between depression spectrum disease and alpha-haptoglobin (both these linkages were previously suggested by significant results in sib-pair analyses).

Adolescent↗

Symptoms in veterans considering compensation claims.

The symptomatology of 56 male veterans considering compensation claims was compared to the symptomatology seen in 163 veterans not considering such claims. Antisocial behaviors, somatic/neurotic complaints, and persecutory ideas were all positively correlated with consideration of a claim. Although the symptom profile is consistent with diagnosis of antisocial personality, a correlation with this diagnosis was not established. Nonetheless, the clinical profile does suggest a link between noncompensable disorders and consideration of a claim. The implications of this finding for military and Veterans Administration psychiatry are discussed.

Adult↗

Possible linkage between group-specific component (Gc protein) and pure depressive disease.

Genetic linkage was studied in pure depressive disease, a subgroup of unipolar depression defined by absence of familial alcoholism and/or antisocial personality. Rigorous research criteria were used for diagnosis and the diagnoses were made blind, i.e. without the knowledge of the genetic marker results. Under the assumptions of full penetrance and of all examined individuals' having passed the risk period, two out of eight families investigated showed a possibility of linkage, using the lod score method, with the Group-Specific Component (Gc protein) locus, one of the 17 polymorphic markers tested. The results, being based on a small amount of data, are presented as a hypothesis only; important possible implications of Psychiatry, however, indicate the desirability of testing the hypothesis.

Alpha-Globulins↗

A linkage study of depression spectrum disease: the use of the sib-pair method.

Genetic linkage was studied in depression spectrum disease, a subgroup of unipolar depressive illness defined by presence of familial alcoholism and/or antisocial personality, using a version of the sib pair method of Penrose. Rigorous research diagnostic criteria were used and the diagnoses were made blind, i.e., without knowledge of the genetic marker results. Possibility of linkage was suggested (p less than 0.005) with the alpha-haptoglobin (alpha-Hp) and third complement component (C3) loci. However, the likelihood that these two markers are not on the same chromosome, and the limitations of the sib pair method, permit these findings to be treated as suggestive only and indicate that these two promising markers should be investigated further, using a more definitive method of linkage detection such as the lod score method.

Adolescent↗