Abstract
Background: Several studies have suggested that the serotonin receptor 1B gene (5HT1B) may be important in the pathogenesis of alcohol dependence (alcoholism; ALC; AD). We examined whether 5HT1B gene A-161T polymorphisms (rs130058) are a susceptibility factor for total AD and subgroups of AD. We further explored correlation of this 5HT1B gene variant between anxiety-depression alcoholism (ANX/DEP ALC) and antisocial alcoholism (antisocial ALC) subgroups because of the high comorbidity of anxiety-depression, antisocial personality disorder, and AD. Methods: We recruited 522 Han Chinese in Taiwan for this study: 322 AD patients and 200 controls. The patient group was recruited primarily from medical teaching hospitals; patients with antisocial alcoholism were recruited from Taiwanese prisons. Individuals with AD were classified into 3 homogeneous clinical subgroups - pure alcoholism (pure ALC), ANX/DEP ALC, and antisocial ALC - using DSM-IV diagnosis. The 5HT1B gene A-161T polymorphism was determined using PCR-RFLP. Results: No significant differences in genotypic and allelic frequencies were found between controls and the total AD group or between controls and the 3 AD subgroups. However, there were significant differences in the 5HT1B gene A-161T polymorphism at both the genotype and allelic levels between the ANX/DEP ALC and antisocial ALC subgroups. Conclusions: This study suggests that the 5HT1B gene A-161T polymorphism alone is not a risk factor for increasing susceptibility to either AD or its subtypes. However, 5HT1B gene A-161T polymorphisms might be one of the common genetic factors between the ANX/DEP ALC and antisocial ALC subgroups.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1589-1595 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2009 Sept |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Toxicology
- Psychiatry and Mental health