Association of a regulatory polymorphism in the promoter region of the monoamine oxidase A gene with antisocial alcoholism
1999; Elsevier BV; Volume: 86; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s0165-1781(99)00020-7
ISSN1872-7123
AutoresJerzy Samochowiec, Klaus‐Peter Lesch, Matthias Rottmann, Michael N. Smolka, Yana V. Syagailo, Olga Okladnova, H. Rommelspacher, Georg Winterer, Lutz G. Schmidt, T. Sander,
Tópico(s)Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling
ResumoWe analyzed a novel functional 30-bp repeat polymorphism in the promoter region of the X-chromosomal monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) to test whether length variation of the repeat polymorphism contributes to variation in the individual vulnerability to antisocial behavior and liability to alcohol dependence. The repeat number (3–5) of the MAOA polymorphism was assessed in 488 male subjects of German descent, a sample comprising 185 psychiatrically screened control subjects and 303 alcohol-dependent subjects including 59 alcoholics with antisocial personality disorder. The frequency of the low-activity 3-repeat allele was significantly increased in 59 antisocial alcoholics compared to 185 control subjects (51 vs. 35%; P=0.031) and to 244 alcoholics without antisocial personality disorder (51 vs. 32%; P=0.008), respectively. We found no significant difference in the frequency of the 3-repeat allele between 244 alcoholics without an antisocial personality disorder and the control subjects. Our findings suggest that the low-activity 3-repeat allele of the MAOA promoter polymorphism confers increased susceptibility to antisocial behavior rather than alcohol dependence per se in alcohol-dependent males.
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