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    Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2004 Jun;7(2):183-8. Epub 2004 Mar 5.

    Association of the functional V158M catechol-O-methyl-transferase polymorphism with panic disorder in women.

    Source

    Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Germany.

    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 (472G=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-bp VNTR in the monoamine oxidase A promoter (MAOALPR) 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.

    PMID:
    15009906
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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