Ethical and Methodological Principles of Genetic Research Involving Psychiatric Patients

Over the past 30 years, over 6,000 human genes have been investigated for their association with the development of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. However, such studies offer poor reproducibility due to methodological differences, heterogeneous and often small sample sizes, as well as the significant influence of genetic variation related to ethnic diversity. Psychiatric disorders may be characterized by their polygenic inheritance, i.e., involving multiple candidate genes. Thus, while the contribution of a specific gene to a particular psychiatric disorder’s pathogenesis is likely to be very small, candidate genes have been identified as partially influencing disease onset. The article sets out fundamental ethical and methodological principles for conducting genetic research and establishing biomaterial repositories – or biobanks. When involving psychiatric patients, such principles must take into account the inherent vulnerability of this group. The conclusions presented in this work may serve as a foundation for developing methodological recommendations and guidelines.

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