Jasmin Ramić

DNA Identification of Commingled Human Remains from the Cemetery Relocated by Flooding in Central Bosnia and Herzegovina

The floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina in May 2014 caused landslides all over the country. In the small village of Šerići, near the town of Zenica, a landslide destroyed the local cemetery, relocated graves, and commingled skeletal remains. As the use of other physical methods of identification (facial recognition, fingerprint analysis, dental analysis, etc.) was not possible, DNA analysis was applied. DNA was isolated from 20 skeletal remains (bone and tooth samples) and six reference samples (blood from living relatives) and amplified using PowerPlex® Fusion and PowerPlex®Y23 kits. DNA profiles were generated for all reference samples and 17 skeletal remains. A statistical analysis (calculation of paternity, maternity, and sibling indexes and matching probabilities) resulted in 10 positive identifications. In this study, 5 individuals were identified based on one reference sample. This has once again demonstrated the significance of DNA analysis in resolving the most complicated cases, such as the identification of commingled human skeletal remains.

P03-74 - Individual genetic variation and response to antipsychotic medications

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder with relatively high occurrence in general population (around 1%). Classical genetic studies (Family, twin and adoption) undoubtedly prove its genetic etiology. On the other hand genetics studies are important in exploration of innate mechanisms responsible for specific response to antipsychotic medications. Significant differences in therapeutic responses to antipsychotic agents in patients suffering from schizophrenia were observed and therefore pharmacogenetics of antipsychotics represents main focus in current psychiatric genetics studies. This is particularly observed at polymorphisms in dopamine and serotonin receptor genes, but also some other biomolecules involved in signal transduction mechanism such are regulators of G-protein signalling in brain (RGS4). In order to test this hypothesis, association between certain variants of RGS4 linked polymorhic marker and responsiveness status towards antypsychotics was evaluated within the group of 52 psychiatric patients under antipsychotics treatment. No association between specific allele or genotype for RGS4 linked loci and therapeutical response using Fisheŕs Exact Test was found (P>0.05).