No association between Val158Met of the COMT gene and susceptibility to schizophrenia in the Syrian population

摘要

Background:The Val158Met single nucleotide polymorphism of the COMT gene has been implicated in the aetiology of schizophrenia, although results from different populations have been conflicting.Aims:The aim of the present study was to investigate possible association between schizophrenia and Val158Met in a novel Arab population from Syria.Methods and Materials:71 unrelated schizophrenic subjects (45 men) and 102 unrelated healthy controls (62 men) were recruited to take part in this case- control study. The Val158Met of the COMT gene was genotyped for patients and controls, using a new optimized PCR-RFLP method.Results:the results demonstrated that there is no statistically significant difference between the two groups.Conclusion:This study does not support that Val158Met has an influence on susceptibility for schizophrenia in this population.