한국인에서 조기-발병 및 후기-발병 강박장애 간의 Catechol-O-Methyltransferase 유전자 다형성 차이

Abstract

Objective：Many researches strongly suggest that early- and late-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) represent separate subtypes of the disorder, possibly with distinct underlying pathogeneses. The aim of this study was to determine the association between Val-158-Met Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) genotypes and the onset of OCD. Method：We recruited 124 OCD patients and classified them into an early-onset group (age of onset ≤17 years) and a late onset-group (age of onset ＞17 years). From the blood, DNA was isolated using standard techniques and the COMT Val-158-Met polymorphism (H/H, H/L, and L/L) was genotyped. Each genotype consists of H (high activity) allele and L (low activity) allele. Genotype and allele frequencies of earlyand late-onset OCD were analyzed by chi-square statistics. Results：The frequencies of H/H genotype and H allele in early-onset OCD group were significantly higher than late-onset OCD group (p=0.037；p=0.014). Conclusion：These results suggest that COMT gene polymorphism might be an important factor in the onset of OCD.