An Association Study of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Val66Met Gene Polymorphism and Schizophrenia

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Val66Met 다형성과 정신분열병의 관련 연구

  • Lee, Hwa-Young (Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Korea University) ;
  • Kim, Dae-Jin (Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Kim, Yong-Ku (Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Korea University)
  • 이화영 (고려대학교 의과대학 안산병원 정신과학교실) ;
  • 김대진 (가톨릭대학교 의과대학 부천성가병원 정신과학교실) ;
  • 김용구 (고려대학교 의과대학 안산병원 정신과학교실)
  • Published : 2006.11.30

Abstract

Objectives : Schizophrenia is a clinically heterogenous disease with a strong genetic component. Many studies have suggested that brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF) is involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. This study was performed to determine whether there is an association between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and schizophrenia. Methods : To identify any genetic predisposition to schizophrenia, we investigated the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in 106 patients with schizophrenia and 147 normal controls with PCR-RFLP method. Statistical analyses were used to test the association between and BDNF Val66Met genotype and Schizophrenia. Results : No association was found between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and schizophrenia. No significant differences were found comparing the BDNF genotype distributions according to the age of onset, the number of admission and familial loading in schizophrenia. Conclusion : This result indicates that BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is not associated with schizophrenia. However, further studies with a large number of subjects are needed to confirm whether the BDNF gene is related to schizophrenia.

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