At least 40 million people in the worId suffer from the most severe forms of mental disorder such as schizophrenia and some 300 million more are affected by less severe but still incapacitating forms of these conditions, including, for example, drug and alcohol dependence and the consequences of brain trauma. The enor mous magnitude of human suffering and the economic losses usually linked of these disorders make them a problem of major public health importance. Recent years have brought with them scientific discoveries which have made it possible to successfully treat most mental disorders and to prevent many others. Some of them, however, cannot be prevented on the basis of today's knowledge, and their treatment remains palliative: further progress in their management awaits an improvement in our understanding of mechanisms by which they come into existence and of factors which influence their course. Recent years have also seen a significant increase in knowledge about genetic factors influencing the occurrence and course of a variety of diseases, for example, cystic fibrosis, Duchenne type muscular dystrophy, thalassemia, and hyperten sion. Some of this knowledge and some of the methods that have been developed to obtain it could have direct relevance to the search for a c1earer comprehension of the pathogenesis of mental disorder.

Diagnosis and Classification of Mental Disorders in Relation to Molecular Research

Genetic Epidemiology Strategies in Psychiatric Diseases
Genetic Linkage in Schizophrenia: Perspectives from Genetic Epidemiology
New Genetic Strategies in Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Strategies for Understanding the Role of Gene Defects in the Pathogenesis of Mental Disorders
The Identification of Genes which Cause or Predispose to Mental Illness
Molecular Approaches Toward the Isolation of the Huntington's Disease Gene
Impact of Environmental Mutagens on Mental Health
Development of an Infrastructure for Molecular Genetic Analysis in Psychiatry
Status of Human Genetics and Genetic Psychiatric Research in India
Ethical Issues in the Application of Knowledge from Molecular Genetics to Mental Disorders
The Potential and the Pitfalls of Molecular Genetics for Psychiatry: An Overview.