Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1998, Side 3

9
Human Population Genetics
in the Faroe Islands
A research model and a haplotype study on bipolar affective disorder
Arvaeginleikakanningar í Føroyum
Kanningarbygnaður og ein kanning innan tvípóla hýrissjúku
August G. Wang!, Maria Vang1, Ole Mors2, Mette Nyegaard3, Torben A. Kruse3,
Henrik Ewald2
1. Dep. of Psychiatry, General Hospital, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, Phone: +298 31 35 40
pt.-Dep. of Psychiatry, Kommunehospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Øster Farimagsgade 5,
DK-1399 Copenhagen K., Denmark
2. Institute for basic Psychiatric Research, Psychiatric Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
3. Institute of Human Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark
Úrtak
Kring allan heimin verður roynt at koma nærri møgulig-
um arvaeginleikum, sum kunnu hava týdning fyri eitt nú
sinnisligar sjúkur.
Royndir eru gjørdar at seta í gongd verkætlanir mill-
um fólk, sum í øldir hava búð í útjaðarøkjum. Her kann
verða lættari at vinna fram við kanningum, tí møgulig
avvik í arvaeginleikunum kunnu her vera í færri útgáv-
um.
Slíkar verkætlanir eru gjørdar í Føroyum. í fyrstu at-
løgu nýtt at kanna bipolera sinnisliga sjúku, eisini rópt
manio-depressiv sjúka.
Fyrstu úrslitini eru við og serliga við atløgu innan
kromosom 16 og 18, har serliga tvinni øki á kromosom
18 kunnu hava týdning.
Abstract
Genetic studies concerning psychiatric illnesses have
for some years created hope for new insight in mental
illness.
Isolated populations may offer a new approach.
Here, the number of different alleles and mutations may
be fewer and therefore more easy to detect.
Such models have been developed for patients in the
Faroe Islands. The first illness to study has been bipolar
disorder, or manic-depressive illness.
Early results conceming chromosome 16 and 18
have especially pointed to two areas on chromosome 18
as interesting.
Introduction
Interest in complex disease gene mapping
in isolated populations has increased in re-
cent years. In geographically and culturally
isolated populations founded a few hun-
dred or thousand years ago from relatively
few individuals most persons with a disease
may have inherited a disease gene and
neighbouring markers from a single or few
ancestors. A disease chromosome descend-
ing from a common ancestor not too many
generations ago will share a common hap-
lotype in the neighbourhood of the disease
allele, reflecting the alleles and haplotype
of the ancestral chromosome on which the
disease mutation occurred. In such a popu-
lation linkage disequilibrium has been
found in much larger chromosome areas of
up to around 10 cM as opposed to less than
Fróðskaparrit 46. bók 1998: 9-16