title: The COMT Val158Met polymorphism as an associated risk factor for Parkinson's disease in Asian rather than Caucasian populations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene has been reported to be associated with the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the associations of PD risk with COMT polymorphisms.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrieval of studies that investigated associations between COMT polymorphisms and PD was carried out. Studies were included if they met the eligibility criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were analyzed using Stata version 12.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 18 studies including 2926 PD cases and 3151 controls were included. The results showed no significant association with all genotypes and alleles in Caucasians. However in Asians, the homozygote A/A (Odds ratio [OR] =1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.16-1.98, P =0.002) tends to increase risk of PD, however, the homozygote G/A (OR =0.85, 95% CI =0.74-0.98, P =0.03) may be a slightly protective effect against PD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed that the COMT polymorphisms may be associated with PD in Asians rather than Caucasians. But further studies are needed to confirm our results.
authors: Department of Physiology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors: Lu
authors: L
authors: Lechun
authors: Su
authors: S
authors: Yu
authors: Hou
authors: H
authors: Pengling
authors: Huang
authors: H
authors: Changqi
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: C588010:COMT protein, human; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase