title: Association for serotonin transporter gene variable number tandem repeat polymorphism and schizophrenic disorders.
abstract: In contrast with two previous western reports, a recent study on a Chinese population found an association for allele 12 of the variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) in the second intron of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene and schizophrenic disorders. We have replicated this finding for a Chinese population in Taiwan (114 schizophrenic patients and 127 controls), demonstrating a modest but significant statistical association for the 5-HTT-VNTR allele 12 and schizophrenic patients (one-sided p = 0.043). This positive finding further supports the proposition that the 5-HTT-VNTR allele 12 is a risk factor for schizophrenic disorders in Chinese populations, although the effect is weak.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Shih-Jen
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Wen-Chen
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.forename: Chen-Jee
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics*; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D013624:Taiwan / Q000208:ethnology; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins