Abstract
Background
This study examined the hypothesis that allelic variants of the ionotropic glutamatergic
N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) are associated with vulnerability to alcoholism
and some related traits.
Methods
We investigated the silent G2108A and C2664T polymorphisms of the NMDAR1 and the NMDAR2B
genes, respectively. The case control study included 367 alcoholic and 335 control
subjects of German origin. The family-based study comprised 81 Polish alcoholic patients
and their parents using the transmission disequilibrium test.
Results
The genotype frequencies of the NMDAR1 polymorphism differed significantly between
control and alcoholic subjects. This difference was also observed in more homogenous
subgroups of alcoholic subjects with vegetative withdrawal syndrome and Cloninger
type 1. Patients with a history of delirium tremens or seizures during withdrawal
showed a significantly increased prevalence of the A allele. Genotyping of the NMDAR2B
polymorphism revealed a significantly reduced T allele in Cloninger type 2 alcoholics
and in patients reporting an early onset compared with control subjects. Our family-based
study for NMDAR2B, revealed a trend to a preferred transmission of the C allele by
the fathers, and families with early-onset patients contributed most to this trend.
Conclusions
These results suggest that variants in NMDAR genes are associated with alcoholism
and related traits.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
January 6,
2003
Received in revised form:
October 25,
2002
Received:
May 30,
2002
Identification
Copyright
© 2003 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
