title: The relationship between catechol-O-methyltransferase gene Val158Met (COMT) polymorphism and premorbid cannabis use in Turkish male patients with schizophrenia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  One of the risk factors for increasing psychotic disorders is the use of cannabis. It has been shown that the inactivation of dopamine and other catecholamines causes a common polymorphism generating substantial variations in COMT enzyme activity. We aimed to understand the role of cannabis in the etiology of schizophrenia with and without pre-morbid usage.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group consisted of 80 male patients and genotyping of COMT enzyme Val158Met gene polymorphisms were detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that the Val/Val genotype is significantly higher in patients with premorbid cannabis use (88.9%) compared to patients without pre-morbid cannabis use (68.4%). Also, the mean total positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) score seen in the Val/Val genotype group is significantly higher than the scores of the patients with the Met allele.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings from this study confirm the association between COMT Val158 Met polymorphism and pre-morbid cannabis use in causing schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Esenyurt State Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey gulayse19@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Aysegul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ermis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Bakirkoy Mazhar Osman Mental Health and Neurological Diseases Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Erkiran
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selcuk
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dasdemir
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Bakirkoy Mazhar Osman Mental Health and Neurological Diseases Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayse Solmaz
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Turkcan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Uskudar University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Emin
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ceylan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Esenyurt State Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey Department of Psychiatry, Bakirkoy Mazhar Osman Mental Health and Neurological Diseases Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey Department of Psychiatry, Uskudar University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Elif Sinem
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Bireller
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bedia
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cakmakoglu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000150:complications*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000209:etiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase
keywords: COMT Val158Met; Schizophrenia; cannabis