The functional MAOA-uVNTR promoter polymorphism in patients with frontotemporal dementia.
The genetic underpinnings of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a rare yet early onset disorder still remains elusive. As FTD is characterized by a serotonergic deficit in the frontal lobe, and as some symptoms of FTD resemble conditions of monoamino oxidase A (MAO-A) deficiency, MAO-A is an attractive candidate gene for case-control association studies of FTD. We have thus ascertained 62 Italian FTD patients and 151 controls matched to age and genotyped them for a functional promoter polymorphism, termed MAOA-uVNTR. However, no significant differences were observed between patients and controls. Bearing in mind the caveat of the small patient sample size, our data nevertheless argue against a major genetic role of MAO-A polymorphism in FTD.
Reif
A
A
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Section of Clinical and Molecular Psychobiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. a.reif@gmx.net
Scarpini
E
E
Venturelli
E
E
Töpner
T
T
Fenoglio
C
C
Lesch
K-P
KP
Galimberti
D
D
D000368:Aged; D003704:Dementia / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*
D008995:Monoamine Oxidase