| Title |
|
|
|
Association of the functional V158M catechol-O-methyl-transferase polymorphism with panic disorder in women
| |
| Author |
|
|
|
| |
| Abstract |
|
|
|
| Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder with an estimated heritability of up to 48%. Pharmacological and genetic studies suggest that genes coding for proteins involved in the catecholaminergic system might be relevant for the pathogenesis of the disease. In the present study, we genotyped a single nucleotide polymorphism (472G/A=V158M) in the coding region of the catechol-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) gene in 115 patients with panic disorder and age- and sex-matched controls. Association analysis revealed a significant excess of the more active COMT allele (4726 = V158) in patients with panic disorder (p=0.04), particularly in female patients (p=0.01), but not in male patients (p=1.0). The assessment of a possible interaction of the COMT polymorphism with a previously reported functional 30-by VNTR in the monoamine oxidase A promoter (MAOA-LPR) in female patients did not yield significant results. Our data support a role of the 472G/A (V158M) COMT polymorphism or a nearby locus in the pathogenesis of panic disorder in women. | | |
| Language |
|
|
|
English
| |
| Source (journal) |
|
|
|
International journal of neuropsychopharmacology. - Cambridge | |
| Publication |
|
|
|
Cambridge : 2004
| |
| ISSN |
|
|
|
1461-1457
| |
| Volume/pages |
|
|
|
7:2(2004), p. 183-188
| |
| ISI |
|
|
|
000221982600011
| |
| Full text (Publisher's DOI) |
|
|
| | |
|