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<B>A genome-wide association study of Alzheimer's disease with psychosis
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   Lead Investigator:    Deborah Blacker
   Institution      :    Mass General
   E-Mail           :    blacker@psych.mgh.harvard.edu
   Proposal ID      :    125
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   Proposal Description:
   <textarea name="description" rows="12" cols="85" wrap="virtual" readonly>The following proposal, entitled A genome-wide association study of Alzheimers disease with psychosis  (AD+P) aims to identify genetic contributors to Alzheimer???s disease with psychosis (AD+P) utilizing genomewide  association (GWA) methods. The proposed project aims at extending the Alzheimers Disease Genetic  Consortium (ADGC) goal to identify Alzheimers disease (AD) genes using GWA to identify genetic contributors  of AD+P ??? which is a potentially distinct phenotype with a genetic basis.1 It addresses the issue of phenotypic  heterogeneity, which is one of the target areas of the current ADGC Request for Special Analysis Group (SAG)  Proposals (RFP). This project proposes to utilize the clinical and GWAS data from the AD cases in the UDS  Clinical case-control sample???, for which the NIA-funded Alzheimer's Disease Centers have collected extensive  clinical phenotype data ??? including on psychotic symptoms. If particular AD+P genes are identified, it would  enhance our understanding of psychosis in AD and potentially in other disorders, and might lead to key  therapeutic targets for a prevalent condition with significant morbidity. The project is led by Dr. Deborah  Blacker at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), in collaboration with Dr. Alan Fung, her doctoral student at  the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), and Dr. Debby Tsuang at the University of Washington: this  multi-institutional team brings extensive experience in geriatric psychiatry, AD phenomenology and genetics,  and genetic epidemiology. The specific aims are as follows:  Specific Aim 1: To identify genetic contributors to Alzheimers disease with psychosis (AD+P) by analyzing  the GWA data collected for the AD cases only in the well-phenotyped clinical cases-controls series with  uniform dataset (UDS) information (UDS sample) in the ADGC. Comparison will be made between AD cases  with psychosis (AD+P) and AD cases without psychosis (AD-P), controlling for stage of </textarea>