A dimensional impulsive-aggressive phenotype is associated with the A218C polymorphism of the tryptophan hydroxylase gene: a pilot study in well-characterized impulsive inpatients.
Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of serotonin, and association and linkage studies of its variants in suicidal and impulsive-aggressive behavior have brought conflicting results. This pilot study was designed to investigate whether TPH A218C genotypes could be associated with impulsive behavioral tendencies (IBTs) in consecutively admitted nonpsychotic nonorganic inpatients. Patients (20 females and 34 males; age, 38.8 +/- 11.8) did not differ from healthy nonimpulsive controls (16 females and 11 males; age, 35.2 +/- 10.2) regarding TPH genotypes, but in the patients, the number of IBT was related to the presence of the 218C allele. It was concluded that impulsive-aggressive behavior may be associated with the TPH genotype in well-characterized impulsive patients and that the present results stress the importance of considering impulsiveness-aggressiveness in studies investigating the relationship between suicidal behavior and TPH genotypes.
FORENAP--Institute for Research in Neurosciences, Neuropharmacology and Psychiatry, Centre Hospitalier, Rouffach, France. luc.staner@forenap.asso.fr
Luc
L
Staner
Gökhan
G
Uyanik
Humberto
H
Correa
Fabien
F
Tremeau
José
J
Monreal
Marc-Antoine
MA
Crocq
Grigori
G
Stefos
Deborah J
DJ
Morris-Rosendahl
Jean Paul
JP
Macher
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase / Q000235:genetics*
D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase