Gene Expression in Down’s Syndrome, Parkinson’s Disease, and Schizophrenia

Abstract

Although it is Alzheimer’s disease that has prompted most studies on gene expression in clinicopathologic states, other neuropsychiatric conditions are under similar investigation. In each case the rationale is the same: information about gene expression can help bridge the gaps between molecular genetics, protein chemistry, and neuropathology. The specific disorders differ, however, in the relative emphasis applicable to each of these reference points. This chapter considers three disorders that highlight the varying roles that gene expression may play: first, Down’s syndrome, whose etiology and pathology are basically known; second, Parkinson’s disease, whose cardinal pathology has long been apparent, but whose etiology has remained obscure — in both these disorders there are animal models that allow gene expression to be investigated under relevant experimental conditions; and, finally, schizophrenia, neither the pathology nor the etiology of which are known and for which gene expression work promises to yield clues to its cerebral substrates.