MAO-A gene polymorphisms are associated with major depression and sleep disturbance in males.
We investigated whether the genetic variants of the MAO-A gene were associated with major depression and/or the clusters of depressive symptoms. The EcoRV and the uVNTR polymorphisms were studied in a population of 191 patients with major depression and 233 control subjects. The EcoRV polymorphism was found to be associated with depression in males but not in females. Haplotype analysis revealed that one of the haplotypes (EcoRV2-uVNTR1) was significantly more frequent among male patients than male controls. Among the HAMD symptom clusters, insomnia scores were significantly higher in male patients carrying allele 2 of the EcoRV polymorphism. These data suggest that the EcoRV and uVNTR polymorphisms may be involved in the pathogenesis of major depression and associated with insomnia in depressed patients.
Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, 1145 Carling Ave, Ontario K1Z 7K4, Canada.
Lisheng
L
Du
David
D
Bakish
Arun
A
Ravindran
Pavel D
PD
Hrdina
D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003710:Demography; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012737:Sex Factors; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics*
D008995:Monoamine Oxidase