J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.  2001 Jul;40(4):718-726.

Polymorphism of Tryptophan Hydroxylase Gene in Alcohol Dependent Patients

• Hong JB
• Lee SI
• Shin CJ
• Kim H
• Chi KW
• Chung IW

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This study was performed to explore the association of tryptophan hydroxylase(TPH) gene with diagnosis of alcohol dependence and/or clinical characteristics such as age of onset, family history, and severity of symptoms in Korean alcoholics.
METHODS
The genotype and allele frequencies of TPH in 100 male hospitalized patients who met DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence were investigated using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism and were compared with 100 agematched healthy male control subjects. And the associations between gene polymorphisms and clinical characteristics in alcoholic patients were explored.
RESULTS
The distributions of TPH genotype and allele in alcohol dependent patients were not different from control subjects. However, the frequencies of TPH genotype in early-onset alcoholic patients, which were 0.57, 0.39, and 0.04(AA, AC and CC, respectively), were significantly different from those of late-onset alcoholics(0.34, 0.45, and 0.21, respectively). "A" allele was found more frequent in early-onset alcoholics.
CONCLUSION
The result suggests that TPH gene polymorphism is associated with early-onset alcoholic patients possibly related with inherited abnormalities of serotonin system.

Keyword

Alcohol dependence; Polymorphism; Tryptophan hydroxylase

MeSH Terms

Age of Onset
Alcoholics
Alcoholism
Alleles
Diagnosis
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Gene Frequency
Genotype
Humans
Male
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
Serotonin
Tryptophan Hydroxylase*
Tryptophan*
Serotonin
Tryptophan
Tryptophan Hydroxylase