Background
The Norwegian Network Study on Personality and Genetics (NONSTOP-GEN) is a general biobank involving the Norwegian Network for Personality Disorders. The aim of NONSTOP-GEN is to increase the knowledge of the genetic foundation for personality disorders.
Why research on genetics?
While environmental factors play a crucial role in the development of personality disorders, there's evidence of a large genetic component as well. As there are many genes involved, we need many participants to be able to find out which genes are the most important. Ongoing research seeks to unravel the complex interplay between genes and environment in shaping personality and related disorders.
What does participation imply?
A saliva sample (.75 ml) from each participating patient which is marked with a code (not name / birth number) and sent to a biobank center at the National Institute of Public Health in Oslo.
Planned research projects
The first project is approved by the Regional Ethics Committee: "Causes of personality disorders - genetic aspects studied in the Norwegian network study on personality and genetics".
NONSTOP-GEN has contributed with data for a Genome Wide Association Study on Borderline Personality Disorder, headed by Fabian Streit and Stephany Witt at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. The results will expectedly be published in 2024. Several independent studies from NONSTOP-GEN are scheduled from 2024 and involve the use of polygenic risk scores and their associations with different diagnoses, psychosocial vulnerabilities, comorbidities and treatment responses.
Collaborations
- The Norwegian Network for Personality Disorders (Geir Pedersen and Elfrida Kvarstein)
- Section for Treatment Research, Department of Research and Innovation, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital (Benjamin Hummelen)
- Section for Precision Medicine, Department of Research and Innovation, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital (Ole Andreassen)
- Department for medical genetics, Oslo University Hospital (Srdjan Djurovic)
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Fabian Streit, Stephany Witt and Marcella Rietschel)
- The International Borderline Personality Disorder Genetics Consortium" (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York).
Principle Investigator
Benjamin Hummelen, MD, PhD. Department for Research and Innovation, Oslo University Hospital. Phone: +4795741039. E-mail: uxbeum@ous-hf.no