Overview

It has been known for centuries that diseases run in families, as do traits. Advances in genetics and genomics has allowed us to explore the basis of this phenomenon, and thus understand both Mendelian and complex diseases. When causative mutations are identified, they can form the basis for further research to understand the biology of the disorder. Patients will benefit by the diagnosis as a line of treatment can be followed and the family can be counselled appropriately when a genetic cause is identified. Many of these conditions require constant clinical support/advise for families which need specialized clinical services. This workshop offers, as an introduction, the various approaches into clinical genetics with reference to the common neuropsychiatric syndromes that we see at NIMHANS.