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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Lack of Association of Alcohol Dependence and Habitual Smoking With Catechol-O-methyltransferase
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (OnlineEarly Articles). 11 September 2007


To test whether variation in the gene encoding the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), which catalyzes the breakdown of dopamine and other catecholamine neurotransmitters, is associated with the risk for alcohol dependence and habitual smoking.

No significant, consistent evidence of association was found with alcohol dependence, early onset alcohol dependence, habitual smoking or the comorbid phenotype. There was no evidence that the functional Val158Met polymorphism, previously reported to be associated with these phenotypes, was associated with any of them.

Despite the substantial size of this study, we did not find evidence to support an association between alcohol dependence or habitual smoking and variation in COMT.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: tforoud@iupui.edu
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