Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the general population. The group of RGS genes that regulate the signaling activity of G protein and modulate signal transduction by the neurotransmitter receptors involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia is currently under active investigation. The association of polymorphism in the RGS2 gene with the occurrence of extrapyramidal disorders induced by neuroleptics was demonstrated previously. The present work involved the analysis of DNA from 258 patients with paranoid schizophrenia and 263 healthy blood donors resident in the Republic of Bashkortostan and belonging to Russian and Tatar ethnic groups. Genetic markers of increased risk of paranoid schizophrenia, namely, the genotype RGS2*G/*G (rs2746071) in Russians (p = 0.001, OR = 4.08) and Tatars (p = 0.000; OR = 4.88), the allele RGS2*G (rs2746071) in Russians (p = 0.00003, OR = 2.37) and Tatars (p = 0.000; OR = 2.51), as well as genetic markers associated with reduced disease risk, were identified. Moreover, genetic markers associated with increased risk of neuroleptic parkinsonism in Russian patients with paranoid schizophrenia treated with the typical antipsychotic haloperidol (RGS2*T/*T (rs2746073), RGS2*C/*C (rs4606), and RGS2*A/*A (rs2746071)) and genetic markers of efficient haloperidol therapy in Tatars were identified. The results are consistent with those obtained previously and support the hypothesis concerning the association of RGS2 gene polymorphisms with the risk of extrapyramidal syndrome development during haloperidol therapy and their involvement in the etiology and pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

An analysis of the association of paranoid schizophrenia seeking with polymorphic variants of GRIN2B was performed in order to identify genetic risk factors of disease development and genetic markers of the response to therapy by neuroleptics in Russian and Tatar patients from Bashkortostan Republic (BR). In the course of the analysis, we revealed the following: (1) genetic markers of increased risk of developing paranoid schizophrenia in various ethnic groups, including, in Tatars, the GRIN2B*T/*T genotype (p = 0.003; OR = 2.33) and GRIN2B*T allele (p = 0.001; OR = 2.36), rs1805247; in Russians, the GRIN2B*T/*T genotype (p = 0.038; OR = 2.12) and GRIN2B*T allele (p = 0.028; OR = 2.03), rs1805247, genotype GRIN2B*A/*A (p = 0.042; OR = 2.12), rs1805476; (2) genetic markers of the reduced risk of developing paranoid schizophrenia; (3) genetic markers of therapy response and the risk of side effects development during neuroleptics (haloperidol) treatment in Bashkortostan. The significant interethnic diversity of genetic factors related to the risk of this disease development was noted.

Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the population. Its etiology is not fully understood. Environmental conditions certainly contribute to the development of schizophrenia, but the determining factor...

Background: Aggressive behavior (AB) represents an important social problem, which results in significant ...