Pritchard Antonia L, Pritchard Colin W, Bentham Peter, Lendon Corinne L
Molecular Psychiatry Group, Population Studies and Human Genetics, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Qld., Australia.
Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2008;26(3):257-60. doi: 10.1159/000160958. Epub 2008 Oct 8.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Alzheimer's disease patients commonly suffer from behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD); a genetic component to the development of BPSD has been demonstrated. Genetic risk factors for other psychiatric disorders have been implicated in BPSD; however, this is the first known investigation of the dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene in BPSD.
Our large cohort of 395 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease was dichotomised into whether they had ever suffered from a given symptom over the study period or not, based on longitudinal data using the BPSD (Neuropsychiatric Inventory). These measures were related to the DAT1 3'-untranslated region (UTR) variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism.
Potential associations were revealed between the 9-repeat allele and presence of irritability and between the 10-repeat allele and aberrant motor behaviour (AMB); however, these do not remain significant after correction for multiple testing. No associations were observed with delusions, hallucinations, depression, agitation/aggression or elation.
Our data suggest that the DAT1 3'-UTR VNTR could play a role in susceptibility to irritability and AMB. The findings presented here require replication in large well-characterised cohorts.
背景/目的：阿尔茨海默病患者常伴有痴呆的行为和心理症状（BPSD）；已证实BPSD的发生有遗传因素。其他精神疾病的遗传风险因素也与BPSD有关；然而，这是首次对BPSD中的多巴胺转运体（DAT1）基因进行的已知研究。
我们对395例可能患有阿尔茨海默病的患者进行了大规模队列研究，根据使用BPSD（神经精神科问卷）的纵向数据，将他们在研究期间是否曾出现特定症状进行二分。这些测量结果与DAT1 3'-非翻译区（UTR）可变数目串联重复序列（VNTR）多态性相关。
发现9重复等位基因与易怒的存在之间以及10重复等位基因与异常运动行为（AMB）之间存在潜在关联；然而，在进行多重检验校正后，这些关联不再显著。未观察到与妄想、幻觉、抑郁、激越/攻击或欣快之间的关联。
我们的数据表明，DAT1 3'-UTR VNTR可能在易怒和AMB易感性中起作用。此处呈现的研究结果需要在大型特征明确的队列中进行重复验证。
