C677T Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) Gene Polymorphism in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: An Association Study in Iranian Population.

• Main Authors: Seyed Masoud Arzaghi, Arash Hossein-Nezhad, Seyed Vahid Shariat, Alireza Ghodsipour, Jamal Shams, Bagher Larijani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2011-03-01
• Series: Iranian Journal of Psychiatry
• Subjects: Bipolar disorder; Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase; Polymorphism; Schizophrenia
• Online Access: https://ijps.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijps/article/view/340
• ISSN: 1735-4587; 2008-2215

Objective: The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphism C677T is suspected to be a risk factor for psychiatric disorders, but it remains inconclusive whether the MTHFR polymorphism C677T is imputed to vulnerability to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Method: We prompted impetus to appraise this polymorphism in an Iranian population. Therefore, 90 patients with bipolar disorder type I (BID), 66 patients with schizophrenia diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria, and 94 unrelated controls with no history of psychiatric disorders were recruited for this study. Genotype distribution and allelic frequencies of C677T polymorphism were investigated. Results: We found no robust differences between patients with BID and schizophrenia with control participants either for allele frequencies or genotype distribution of MTHFR C677T polymorphism. However, a trend toward an increased risk for T allele was observed in the BID patients [with odds ratio (OR) of 1.28(CI 95%: 0.8-1.31), p>0.05]. Conclusion: However, the present and some previous studies failed to elucidate possible interaction between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and vulnerability to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; still some associations have been revealed in performed meta-analyses that warrant further studies.