title: Association between A218C polymorphism of the tryptophan-hydroxylase-1 gene, harm avoidance and binge eating behavior in bulimia nervosa.
abstract: Genes involved in serotonin transmission are likely involved in the biological predisposition to bulimia nervosa. We investigated whether the A218C polymorphism of the tryptophan-hydroxylase-1 gene was associated to bulimia nervosa and/or to some phenotypic aspects of the disorder. One hundred eighty Caucasian women (91 patients with bulimia nervosa and 89 healthy controls) were enrolled into the study. They underwent a blood sample collection for A218C polymorphism of the tryptophan-hydroxylase-1 genotyping and a clinical evaluation assessing comorbidity for Axis I and II psychiatric disorders, harm avoidance personality dimension and bulimic symptoms. The distribution of both tryptophan-hydroxylase-1 A218C genotypes and alleles did not significantly differ between patients and controls. Bulimic women with the AA genotype exhibited a more severe binge eating behavior and higher harm avoidance scores than those with CC genotype. These findings support the idea that tryptophan-hydroxylase-1 A218C polymorphism does not play a part in the genetic susceptibility to bulimia nervosa, but it seems to be involved in predisposing bulimic patients to a more disturbed eating behavior and higher harm avoidance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Naples SUN, Naples, Italy. monteri@tin.it
authors.forename: Palmiero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Monteleone
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tortorella
authors.forename: Vassilis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Martiadis
authors.forename: Ismene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Serino
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di Filippo
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maj
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002032:Bulimia / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C497467:TPH1 protein, human; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase