title: Catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met polymorphism in relation to aggressive schizophrenia in a Korean population.
abstract: We examined the association between the Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism and aggressive schizophrenia. The sample included 61 aggressive schizophrenic patients as well as 104 non-aggressive patients from psychiatric hospitals and 415 healthy volunteers in South Korea. In the case-control comparisons, there was no significant association between the aggressive schizophrenic patients and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism. Looking only at the subgroup of aggressive schizophrenic patients, however, we found a dose-dependent relationship between the Met allele and verbal aggression. In this subgroup, the Met carriers showed a higher verbal aggression score than those with the Val/Val homozygote. These findings support the hypothesized moderating role of the COMT gene in the aggressive behaviour in some schizophrenic patients, though they do not support the existence of a direct association between the COMT Val158Met polymorphism and aggressive schizophrenia case status in the Korean population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul-Paik Hospital, Inje University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Youl-Ri
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jeong Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Se Joo
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dongeun
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sung Kil
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Min
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology*; D000483:Alleles; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase