FIVE psychiatric disorders share a common problem in several
faulty genes, according to the biggest study of its kind,
published on Thursday. In the widest trawl of genetic mutations
linked with mental disorders, US-led researchers looked through
the DNA code of 33,332 people with autism, attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive
disorder or schizophrenia. Their genomes were matched against
27,888 ''controls'', or people who did not have these illnesses,
in a bid to spot tiny changes in genes. The five diseases have
common risk factors in flaws on chromosomes 2 and 10 and in two
genes that help regulate the flow of calcium in brain cells, the
investigators found. One of the genes, CACNA1C, had been
fingered in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The study,
published in The Lancet, says the common genes are part of a
wider picture and do not by themselves explain the causes of
these disorders or why their symptoms vary. The gene samples
examined by the Psychiatric Genomics Co