Lee Hwa-Young, Kim Dai-Jin, Lee Heon-Jeong, Choi Jung-Eun, Kim Yong-Ku
Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Mar 17;33(2):276-80. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2008.11.013. Epub 2008 Dec 3.
Serotonin transporter is a candidate gene for the pathogenesis of some psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the role of the serotonin transporter gene polymorphism in the clinical aspects of schizophrenia including symptomatology and therapeutic response.
This study comprised 141 unrelated patients who strictly met the DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia and 115 control subjects. All subjects were of Korean ethnicity. Serotonin transporter intron 2 VNTR polymorphism (5-HTTVNTR) and serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) were analyzed in schizophrenia patients and control subjects. The Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) was used at baseline and 6 weeks after atypical antipsychotic treatment to evaluate the clinical symptoms. Body mass index (BMI), the Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale (BARS), the Simpson-Angus Rating Scale (EPS) for adverse effect and the Calgary Depression rating Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) were measured.
There were no significant differences in the frequency of genotypes between schizophrenia patients and control subjects. There were no significant differences in PANSS scores before treatment according to the serotonin transporter genotypes. Treatment response after atypical antipsychotics did not differ among the genotypes. No difference was shown among the genotypes for the scales in adverse effects and depression (BMI, BARS, EPS, CDSS).
Our results suggest that the serotonin transporter polymorphism does not seem to be a susceptibility factor for schizophrenia. Similarly, the serotonin transporter polymorphism might not affect the therapeutic response and adverse effect to atypical antipsychotics in Korean patients with schizophrenia. Further studies with a larger number of subjects are required to better understand the role of the serotonin transporter polymorphism in schizophrenia.
血清素转运体是某些精神疾病发病机制的候选基因。本研究旨在探讨血清素转运体基因多态性在精神分裂症临床症状及治疗反应等方面的作用。
本研究纳入了141例严格符合DSM-IV精神分裂症标准的无血缘关系患者以及115例对照者。所有受试者均为韩国人。对精神分裂症患者和对照者分析血清素转运体内含子2 VNTR多态性（5-HTTVNTR）和血清素转运体连锁多态性区域多态性（5-HTTLPR）。在基线期及非典型抗精神病药物治疗6周后使用阳性与阴性症状量表（PANSS）评估临床症状。测量体重指数（BMI）、巴恩斯静坐不能评定量表（BARS）、不良反应的辛普森-安格斯评定量表（EPS）以及精神分裂症卡尔加里抑郁评定量表（CDSS）。
精神分裂症患者与对照者之间基因型频率无显著差异。根据血清素转运体基因型，治疗前PANSS评分无显著差异。不同基因型患者接受非典型抗精神病药物治疗后的反应无差异。在不良反应及抑郁量表（BMI、BARS、EPS、CDSS）方面，各基因型之间无差异。
我们的结果表明，血清素转运体多态性似乎不是精神分裂症的易感性因素。同样，血清素转运体多态性可能不会影响韩国精神分裂症患者对非典型抗精神病药物的治疗反应及不良反应。需要开展更多受试者的进一步研究，以更好地了解血清素转运体多态性在精神分裂症中的作用。
