Can you explain "shared genetic liability" to me?

[cintinative]

From a medical report for a loved one who has OCD, auditory hallucinations and cervical dystonia.

"Shared genetic liability among OCD, autism and schizophrenia (GABA-A receptors) and cervical dystonia. OCD, global executive function planning, VS, and working memory."

So, does anyone know what "shared genetic liability" means?

Also what is "VS"?  I thought it might be related to executive function but I can't find anything and it doesn't ring a bell. 

[Lecka]

I think it means the same genes are associated with all 3.

I don’t know what VS is.

 

[Pen]

Verbal Skills?

[Pawz4me]

Visual spatial?

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, cintinative said:

So, does anyone know what "shared genetic liability" means?

I think it is also called shared genetic factors or comorbidity.

e.g. https://www.science.gov/topicpages/s/shared+genetic+liability#

"Schizophrenia patients and their parents have an increased risk of immune disorders compared to population controls and their parents. This may be explained by genetic overlap in the pathogenesis of both types of disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic overlap between schizophrenia and three immune disorders and to compare with the overlap between schizophrenia and two disorders not primarily characterized by immune dysregulation: bipolar disorder and type 2 diabetes. We performed a polygenic risk score analysis using results from the schizophrenia Psychiatric GWAS consortium (PGC) (8922 cases and 9528 controls) and five Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC) case samples as target cases: bipolar disorder (n=1998), type 1 diabetes (n=2000), Crohn's diseases (n=2005), rheumatoid arthritis (n=1999), and type 2 diabetes (n=1999). The WTCCC British Birth Cohort and National Blood Service samples (n=3004) were used as target controls. Additionally, we tested whether schizophrenia polygenic risk scores significantly differed between patients with immune disorder, bipolar disorder, and type 2 diabetes respectively. Polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia significantly predicted disease status in all three immune disorder samples (Nagelkerke-R(2) 1.1%-1.3%; p<0.05). The polygenic risk of schizophrenia in patients with immune disorders was significantly lower than in patients with bipolar disorder (Nagelkerke-R(2) 6.0%; p<0.05), but higher than in type 2 diabetes patients (Nagelkerke-R(2) 0.5%; p<0.05). Our results suggest that genetic factors are shared between schizophrenia and immune disorders. This contributes to an accumulating body of evidence that immune processes may play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."

31 minutes ago, Pen said:

Verbal Skills?

I was guessing visual spatial.

[PeterPan]

4 hours ago, cintinative said:

Shared genetic liability among OCD, autism and schizophrenia (GABA-A receptors)

I'm not sure they're saying homozygous. I think maybe they're saying the GABA-A receptor defect causes symptoms that are being diagnosed as OCD, autism, and schizophrenia.

[PeterPan]

3 hours ago, Arcadia said:

also called shared genetic factors

Yes and googlefu also calls it shared genetic etiology, which makes even more sense. 

Guess I don't have anything witty to say about GABA. It's a pain in the butt situation. But yeah, if they're having the auditory hallucinations, you might see if you can get that down with vitamins. 

[cintinative]

9 hours ago, PeterPan said:

 

Guess I don't have anything witty to say about GABA. It's a pain in the butt situation. But yeah, if they're having the auditory hallucinations, you might see if you can get that down with vitamins. 

What vitamins are typically recommended? I know she takes a bunch but I can check against what she is taking.  We all thought the hallucinations would be part of her Alzheimer's diagnosis, but the paperwork says that is not common in AD. I guess it could still be part of AD.  

[PeterPan]

50 minutes ago, cintinative said:

What vitamins are typically recommended? I know she takes a bunch but I can check against what she is taking.  We all thought the hallucinations would be part of her Alzheimer's diagnosis, but the paperwork says that is not common in AD. I guess it could still be part of AD.  

I didn't google it hard, only came across it incidentally. Try zinc, but it's definitely not only zinc. I'm just saying it will be there. The auditory hallucinations are part of the schizophrenia and I think they can go up/down with the vitamin issues. 

I'm not saying don't use meds (lest someone say I am). I'm just saying it's something to look into in case you can find a hole. 

[cintinative]

1 hour ago, PeterPan said:

I didn't google it hard, only came across it incidentally. Try zinc, but it's definitely not only zinc. I'm just saying it will be there. The auditory hallucinations are part of the schizophrenia and I think they can go up/down with the vitamin issues. 

I'm not saying don't use meds (lest someone say I am). I'm just saying it's something to look into in case you can find a hole. 

The psychiatrists tried all the traditional antipsychotics and they had no effect, which is why we are/were thinking this is related to a neurological disease/dementia as opposed to a psychiatric issue.  The interesting thing is that the neurologist is saying that Auditory hallucinations are not typical for Alzheimer's. Nor are they typical for Lewy Bodies Dementia. So I guess we'll see if the med for the AD works for the hallucinations as well. 

[Arcadia]

2 hours ago, cintinative said:

.  The interesting thing is that the neurologist is saying that Auditory hallucinations are not typical for Alzheimer's. 

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-and-hallucinations-delusions-and-paranoia

“Due to complex changes occurring in the brain, people with Alzheimer's disease may see or hear things that have no basis in reality.

• Hallucinations involve hearing, seeing, smelling, or feeling things that are not really there. For example, a person with Alzheimer's may see children playing in the living room when no children exist.
• Delusions are false beliefs that the person thinks are real. For example, the person may think his or her spouse is in love with someone else.
• Paranoia is a type of delusion in which a person may believe—without a good reason—that others are mean, lying, unfair, or “out to get me.” He or she may become suspicious, fearful, or jealous of people.

If a person with Alzheimer’s has ongoing disturbing hallucinations or delusions, seek medical help. An illness or medication may cause these behaviors. Medicines are available to treat these behaviors but must be used with caution. The following tips may also help you cope with these behaviors.

Hallucinations and Delusions

Here are some tips for coping with hallucinations and delusions:

• Discuss with the doctor any illnesses the person with Alzheimer’s has and medicines he or she is taking. Sometimes an illness or medicine may cause hallucinations or delusions.
• Try not to argue with the person about what he or she sees or hears. Comfort the person if he or she is afraid.
• Distract the person. Sometimes moving to another room or going outside for a walk helps.
• Turn off the TV when violent or upsetting programs are on. Someone with Alzheimer’s may think these events are happening in the room.
• Make sure the person is safe and can’t reach anything that could be used to hurt anyone or himself or herself.“