Abstract
In schizophrenia the influence of an unfavourable combination of several genes and environmental factors is presumed. As for etiopatogenesis of schizophrenia , the most frequent significant associations are related to genes for neuregulin 1, dysbindin, G72 protein, D-aminoacidoxidase, RGS4, prolin dehydrogenase, DISCI and GRM3.
Most of these genes and proteins are funcionally linked with glutamatergic receptors, which emphasizes the significance of the glutamate hypothesis of schizophrenia. The Val158Met polymorphism of the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene only modifies some clinical symptoms of the disease, e.g. the patients aggressiveness or working memory.
Genetic research into schizophrenia endophenotypes (smooth-pursuit eye movements, evoked EEG potentials) is promising. Studies simultaneously examining a combination of several genes or polymorphisms (haplotypes)were also published.