No association between MAOA gene promoter polymorphism and antisocial personality traits in heroin addicts

• Main Authors: Chi-Hung Lin, 林季宏
• Other Authors: Shing-Yaw Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2005
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/56781900399447468971

碩士 === 高雄醫學大學 === 行為科學研究所碩士班 === 93 === Background: Following the trend of domestic economic growth, political, and society''s changes, narcotics abuse become common in Taiwan recently. In January 2005, the number of drugs abuse criminals being sentenced guilty grow up 84.6%, as compared with January 2004. In the same period of last year relatively, first class drugs crimes increases by 96.6%. In Gerra et al. study, the repeat number of the MAOA functional polymorphism was assessed in 199 male subjects of Italian descent, a sample comprising 95 healthy subjects and 104 heroin-dependent subjects including 52 addicted individuals with violent behaviour and antisocial personality disorder demonstrated that the frequency of the low-activity 3-repeat allele was significantly higher in violent offenders among heroin addicts, compared to addicted individuals without antisocial behaviour (34.6 vs. 15.4%; p<0.03) and controls (18.9%; p<0.05). No significant difference was evidenced in the frequencies of the MAOA alleles between heroin-dependent subjects in general and control subjects. High activity 4-repeat allele frequency was significantly higher in addicted individuals without antisocial behavior compared to antisocial-aggressive heroin-dependent subjects (76.9 vs. 55.8%; p<0.02). Aims: We planed to explore the alleles distribution of the MAOA gene promoter polymorphism in Chinese male with heroin addiction and a random-selected community group. Furthermore, we analyzed the potential association between MAOA gene promoter polymorphism and antisocial personality traits in heroin addicts. Methods: The repeat number (3–5) of the MAOA-uVNTR functional polymorphism was determined in 544 male heroin dependence subjects according to SCID for DSM-III-R and 184 random-selected community male controls from Tainan, Taiwan. Antisocial personality traits were evaluated by the criminal behaviors, such as any criminal records, illegal substance abuse criminal records, other criminal records except illegal substance abuse, and violence-aggressive criminal records. Results: These results demonstrated that there are no association between MAOA gene promoter polymorphism and heroin dependence, and no association between MAOA gene promoter polymorphism and antisocial personality traits. With logistic regression, low level of education, parent’s abnormal marriage statuses, but not MAOA gene promoter polymorphism, are correlated with subjects with criminal records. Low level of education (≦9 years) and parent’s abnormal marriage status, but not MAOA gene promoter polymorphism, can predict antisocial personality traits. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that MAOA gene promoter polymorphism does not play a major role in the modulation of heroin dependence in Chinese males, but we could not exclude that other polymorphisms of the MAOA gene affect heroin dependence. Further exploration of the other polymorphisms of the MAOA gene, multiple interactions of polymorphisms in various neurotransmitters systems, genome-environment interactions may be needed in future studies of heroin dependence.