Angiotensin-converting enzyme polymorphism in schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and their first-degree relatives

Abstract

Background Family, twin and adoption studies have provided major evidence for the role of genetics in numerous psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorders (BDs). As SZ and BD have some susceptibility genes in common and since unaffected first-degree relatives of these patients carry a high likelihood of these susceptibility genes, we aimed to elucidate the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genetic variants in patients with SZ, BD and their first-degree relatives.