title: Excluding linkage between panic disorder and the gamma-aminobutyric acid beta 1 receptor locus in five Icelandic pedigrees.
abstract: The GABAA receptor subunits are candidate genes for panic disorder because the receptor is the site of action for the anxiolytic effects of the benzodiazepines. We tested for linkage between a tetranucleotide repeat polymorphism at the GABAA beta 1 locus, located on chromosome 4p13-p12, and panic disorder defined by DSM-III-R criteria in 5 Icelandic pedigrees. Both a narrow affection status (definite panic disorder and agoraphobia) and a broad one (including probable cases of these disorders) were tested. With the narrow definition, at a recombination fraction of 0.00, the lod scores in the 5 pedigrees ranged from -3.240 to +0.063, the total score across all 5 pedigrees being -8.299. With the broad definition at the same recombination fraction, the individual lod scores ranged from -2.614 to -0.489, with the total being -8.089. Thus, linkage between panic disorder/agoraphobia and the GABAA beta 1 locus in these pedigrees is exceedingly unlikely.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, National University Hospital, Reykjavík, Iceland.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zoëga
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Crowe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D008040:Genetic Linkage / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008126:Lod Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D010375:Pedigree; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D011963:Receptors, GABA-A