Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Doherty, Christine
• Hogue, Olivia
• Floden, Darlene P.
• Altemus, Jessica B.
• Najm, Imad M.
• Eng, Charis
• Busch, Robyn M.

Titel

BDNF and COMT, but not APOE, alleles are associated with psychiatric symptoms in refractory epilepsy

Ist Teil von

• Epilepsy & behavior, 2019-05, Vol.94, p.131-136

Ort / Verlag

United States: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The objective of this study was to determine whether three common genetic polymorphisms [apolipoprotein (APOE) ε4 (rs42938 and rs7412), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Met (rs6265), and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val (rs4680)] are associated with increased psychiatric symptomatology in individuals with pharmacoresistant epilepsy. One hundred forty-eight adults (Mage = 38 years; 53% female) with refractory epilepsy completed self-report measures of mood, anxiety, and/or personality/psychopathology. Mann–Whitney U, t-tests, and Fisher's exact tests were used to determine if APOE4, BDNF Val66Met, or COMT Val158Met are associated with increased psychiatric symptomatology in people with epilepsy. As a group, BDNF Met carriers reported greater symptoms of depression on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) than those without a Met allele (p = 0.004); COMT Val carriers reported greater symptoms on the PAI Schizophrenia (p = 0.007), Antisocial Features (p = 0.04), and Alcohol Problems (p = 0.03) scales than noncarriers. On the individual level, a significantly greater proportion of BDNF Met carriers demonstrated elevated PAI Depression scores compared to those without a Met allele (p = 0.046). There was also a larger proportion of COMT Val carriers with elevated PAI Anxiety scores as compared to those without a Val allele (p = 0.036). This retrospective cross-sectional study provides preliminary evidence for a genetic basis of psychiatric comorbidities in epilepsy and suggests that BDNF and COMT may play an important role in the pathophysiology of mental health problems in this vulnerable population. •BDNF Met carriers reported more depressive symptoms than non-Met carriers•A larger proportion of BDNF Met carriers had clinically elevated depression scores compared to non-Met carriers•COMT Val carriers scored higher on Schizophrenia, Antisocial Features, and Alcohol Problems Scales than non-Val carriers•A larger proportion of COMT Val carriers had clinically elevated anxiety scores, compared to non-carriers•The APOE ε4 allele was not associated with psychiatric symptomatology in people with epilepsy