Association between low-activity allele of cathecolamine-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) and Borderline Personality Disorder in an Italian population
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2013
Citazione:
Association between low-activity allele of cathecolamine-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) and Borderline Personality Disorder in an Italian population / M. Lazzaretti, D. Fabbro, M. Sala, K. Del Toso, G. de Vidovich, E. Marraffini, N. Morandotti, F. Gambini, F. Barale, M. Balestrieri, G. Damante, E. Caverzasi, P. Brambilla. - In: BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE. - ISSN 0896-4289. - 39:2(2013 Apr 01), pp. 25-28. [10.1080/08964289.2012.722134]
Abstract:
The objective of the present study was to test the association between Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and the cathecolamine-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) low-activity (Met158) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). In this case-control study, DNA was obtained from venous blood of 19 BPD patients and 36 healthy subjects. COMT-Val158Met single-nucleotide polymorphism was genotyped by predesigned SNP assay. The COMT Met158 allele was over-represented in patients with BPD in comparison to normal subjects (68.4% vs 44.4%, respectively; Fisher exact test, p =.02). In terms of genotype, the Met158Met subjects were more frequent in patients versus controls (47.4% vs 22.2%, respectively), whereas the high-activity genotype Val158Val was under-represented (10.5% vs 33.3%, respectively). The allele encoding for the COMT with low enzymatic efficiency was found to be over-represented in BPD, possibly resulting in excessive synaptic dopaminergic activity and ultimately affecting externalizing behaviours, such as impulsivity and aggressiveness.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
aggressiveness; dopamine; externalizing behaviors; impulsivity; memory
Elenco autori:
M. Lazzaretti, D. Fabbro, M. Sala, K. Del Toso, G. de Vidovich, E. Marraffini, N. Morandotti, F. Gambini, F. Barale, M. Balestrieri, G. Damante, E. Caverzasi, P. Brambilla
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