Korean J Biol Psychiatry.  2004 Nov;11(2):136-145.

No Association between Genetic Polymorphism of Tryptophan Hydroxylase A218C and Serotonin Transporter Linked Polymorphic Region and Panic Disorder

• Choi YH
• Woo JM
• Park HK
• Yoon KS
• Cho DY
• Lee MS

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Genetic variations of the tryptophan hydroxylase(TPH) gene and the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region(5-HTTLPR) polymorphism have been associated with its functional capacity. The authors investigated whether the allelic constitution of the TPH gene and 5-HTTLPR are associated in Korean panic patients.
METHODS
244 Korean patients with panic disorder and 227 normal healthy controls were tested for a genetic polymorphism of TPH A218C and 5-HTTLPR polymorphism. To assess the severity of panic disorder during the last one month, anticipatory anxiety, panic difficulty, panic distress, agoraphobic difficulty and agoraphobic distress were measured with visual analogue scale(VAS) score, STAI-S & T, BDI, SCL-90-R, ASI-R, CGI, PDSS, and HAMD.
RESULTS
There was no significant difference in genotype and allele frequencies of TPH A218C and 5-HTTLPR polymorphism between panic patients and controls. Although we observed some differences in genotype and allele frequencies of TPH A218C polymorphism among male subjects, these differences disappeared after Bonferroni correction. And there were no significant differences in clinical variables.
CONCLUSION
Our results suggested that there are no association between the genetic polymorphism of TPH gene and 5-HTTLPR with panic disorder.

Keyword

Tryptophan hydroxylase; Serotonin transporter; Panic disorder; Association; Genetic polymorphism

MeSH Terms

Anxiety
Constitution and Bylaws
Gene Frequency
Genetic Variation
Genotype
Humans
Male
Panic Disorder*
Panic*
Polymorphism, Genetic*
Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins*
Serotonin*
Tryptophan Hydroxylase*
Tryptophan*
Serotonin
Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
Tryptophan
Tryptophan Hydroxylase