Childhood/early adolescence-onset and adult-onset schizophrenia. Heterogeneity at the dopamine D3 receptor gene.
BACKGROUND
The dopamine D3 receptor gene (DRD3) is a meaningful candidate gene because it unifies the dopamine and the limbic hypotheses for schizophrenia. We tested for an allelic association between schizophrenia and the DRD3 Mscl alleles, hypothesising heterogeneity between childhood/early adolescence-onset schizophrenia (CO-SZ) and adult-onset schizophrenia (A-SZ).


METHODS
The frequencies of the DRD3 alleles were compared between 70 DSM-III-R schizophrenics (35 CO-SZ and 35 A-SZ) and 79 controls.


RESULTS
Compared with the controls, the subsample of A-SZ, but not CO-SZ, showed an over-proportion (P = 0.025) of allele 1. The association was not found in the total sample, combining the two subsamples.


CONCLUSIONS
Consistently with former studies, our data suggest an aetiological heterogeneity between CO-SZ and A-SZ and a possible specificity of the excess of allele 1 to the familial form of schizophrenia and to schizophrenia with a better outcome.
Maziade
M
M
Centre de recherche Université Laval Robert-Giffard, Beauport, Québec, Canada.
Martinez
M
M
Rodrigue
C
C
Gauthier
B
B
Tremblay
G
G
Fournier
C
C
Bissonnette
L
L
Simard
C
C
Roy
M A
MA
Rouillard
E
E
Mérette
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D000483:Alleles; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000235:genetics*; D050637:Receptors, Dopamine D3; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics*
C493593:DRD3 protein, human; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D050637:Receptors, Dopamine D3