Psychiatry Investig.  2009 Jun;6(2):108-111.

No Evidence for Association between Tyrosine Hydroxylase Gene Val81Met Polymorphism and Susceptibility to Tardive Dyskinesia in Schizophrenia

• Lee HJ
• Kang SG
• Choi JE
• Park YM
• Lim SW
• Rhee MK
• Kim SH
• Kim L

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine biosynthesis. Because the TH Val81Met polymorphism is located in the amino-terminal regulatory domain of the tetrameric enzyme, it is a candidate marker for susceptibility to dopamine-related traits. We investigated the hypothesis that TH Val81Met polymorphism can influence susceptibility to tardive dyskinesia (TD) in schizophrenia. METHODS: TH Val81Met polymorphism was analyzed by PCR-based methods in 83 schizophrenic patients with TD and 126 schizophrenic patients without TD, matched for antipsychotic drug exposure and other relevant variables. RESULTS: There was no significant association of the genotype and allele frequencies determined by the TH Val81Met polymorphism between TD and non-TD patients. In addition, there was no significant difference in terms of total Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale scores among the three genotype groups. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations imposed by the size of the clinical sample, these findings suggest that the Val81Met polymorphism of the TH gene does not contribute significantly to the risk for TD.

Keyword

Tardive dyskinesia; Tyrosine hydoxylase; Polymorphism

MeSH Terms

Dopamine
Dyskinesias
Gene Frequency
Genotype
Humans
Movement Disorders
Schizophrenia
Tyrosine
Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase
Dopamine
Tyrosine
Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase