title: COMT and BDNF Gene Variants Help to Predict Alcohol Consumption in Alcohol-dependent Patients.
abstract: The neurobiology of alcohol dependence (AD) involves alterations in neurotransmitters and the stress response. We hypothesized that an interaction between functional variants of dopaminergic and neurotrophic genes may influence drinking in AD.
  
  
  
  The relationship between alcohol consumption and single-nucleotide polymorphisms, Val66Met in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and Val158Met in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), was analyzed among 281 alcohol-dependent individuals.
  
  
  
  Individuals carrying both the COMT Met158Met genotype and the BDNF Val66Val genotype drank more than those with other variants of these genes (P = 0.039). Those who had a family history of AD also drank more than those without a family history (P = 0.048). Patients with both Met/Met genotype in the COMT Val158Met polymorphism and Val/Val genotype in the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism suffered from more health problems than those carrying other variants (P = 0.030) and had lower motivation to change drinking patterns (P = 0.031).
  
  
  
  Patients carrying both the BDNF Val66Val and COMT Met158Met variants had higher alcohol consumption. These effects may be influenced by the effects of BDNF and COMT on dopamine responses to alcohol. Motivation-enhancing strategies might benefit the group of patients identified by genotyping in this study, and also treatment aimed at reducing alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw (AK, AM, AJ, AW, MK, SF, MW); Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, Military Institute of Medicine, Warsaw, Poland (JK); and Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (MB, KB, MW).
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klimkiewicz
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mach
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jakubczyk
authors.forename: Jakub
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klimkiewicz
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wnorowska
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kopera
authors.forename: Sylwia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fudalej
authors.forename: Margit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burmeister
authors.forename: Kirk
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brower
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wojnar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000235:genetics*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011044:Poland
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; C579455:BDNF protein, human; C588010:COMT protein, human; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase