Premium
Association between the DRD2 A1 allele and opium addiction in the Iranian population
Author(s) -
Najafabadi Maria Shahmoradgoli,
Ohadi Mina,
Joghataie Mohammad Taghi,
Valaie Faraz,
Riazalhosseini Yasser,
Mostafavi Hamid,
Mohammadbeigi Fariba,
Najmabadi Hossein
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
american journal of medical genetics part b: neuropsychiatric genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.393
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1552-485X
pISSN - 1552-4841
DOI - 10.1002/ajmg.b.30117
Subject(s) - allele , addiction , opium , dopaminergic , medicine , substance abuse , locus (genetics) , genotype , allele frequency , genetics , psychiatry , biology , gene , dopamine , political science , law
Dysfunction of the central dopaminergic neurotransmission has been suggested to play an important role in the etiology of certain neuropsychiatric disorders such as drug abuse. It has been shown that the dopamine D2 receptor ( DRD2 ) gene dysfunction is associated with multi‐drug addiction. Addiction to opium is the most common form of drug abuse in Iran. We studied the allelic association between DRD2 Taq I A polymorphism in 100 opium‐dependent Iranian patients and 130 unrelated controls. A 310 bp (base pair) region surrounding Taq I site at the DRD2 locus was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the PCR product was incubated with Taq I restriction enzyme. The A1 allele remained intact while the A2 allele was cut. Significant association was observed between A1 allele and addiction in the patients group ( P < 0.0001). Moreover, the frequency of A1A1 genotype was significantly higher in opium users than controls ( P < 0.0001). Our result indicates that DRD2 might be involved in the pathophysiology of opium addiction. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.