OBJECTIVE Catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) is involved in the degradation of catecholamine neurotransmitters. Recent linkage studies of schizophrenia and molecular studies of velocardiofacial syndrome suggest that the COMT gene might be a candidate gene for schizophrenia. METHOD The authors systematically searched for mutations and microdeletion of the COMT gene in 177 Chinese schizophreni...

BACKGROUND Personality traits such as novelty seeking (NS) are associated with substance dependence but the mechanism underlying this association remains uncertain. Previous studies have focused on the role of the dopamine pathway. OBJECTIVE Examine the relationships between allelic variants of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, NS personality traits, and age of onset of drug use i...

The etiology of preeclampsia is complex, with susceptibility being attributable to multiple environmental factors and a large genetic component. Although many candidate genes for preeclampsia have been suggested and studied, the specific causative genes still remain to be identified. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is an enzyme involved in catecholamine and estrogen degradation and has rece...

Catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) gene variants are involved in different neuropsychiatric disorders and cognitive impairments, associated with altered dopamine function. This study investigated the genotypic haplotypic association of COMT rs4680 rs4618 polymorphisms severity other clinical symptoms 544 male 385 female subjects schizophrenia. rs4818 G carriers were more frequent patients mil...

enzyme which inactivates the released catecholamines from nerve endings by methylating their catechol moieties using S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) as a methyl donor. COMT is found in most mammalian tissues, with highest activity in the liver and the kidney. There are two COMT isoforms: in the cytoplasm as soluble COMT (S-COMT) and in association with membranes as membrane-bound COMT (MB-COMT)....

The C957T polymorphism in the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene and the Val158Met polymorphism in the Catechol-O-Methyl-Transferase (COMT) gene affect dopamine transmission and have been found to be associated with schizophrenia. Since DRD2 in mice and the COMT gene in humans modulate working memory, we examined the relationship and possible interaction of both polymorphisms to working memory pe...

BACKGROUND The Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene contains a functional polymorphism, Val158Met, that has been found to influence human pain perception. In one study fibromyalgia was less likely among those with Val/Val genotype. METHODS In the 1995-97 Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), the association between Val/Met polymorphism at the COMT gene and chronic musculoskeletal complaints...

Catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) is a catabolic enzyme involved in the degradation of a number of bioactive molecules; of principal interest to psychiatry, these include dopamine. The enzyme is encoded by the COMT gene. COMT is located (along with 47 other genes) in a fragment of chromosome 22q11 which when deleted results in a complex syndrome, the psychiatric manifestations of which inclu...

The temperature-induced paralysis of comatose (comt) mutants of Drosophila is suggestive of a function for N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion factor (NSF) in the CNS. Mutations in the para gene encoding the subunit of the voltage-gated sodium channel also result in a similar phenotype. We show that paralysis in comt flies is activity-dependent, and in the doubly mutant comt para flies comt-like ...

BACKGROUND Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) metabolizes dopamine. The COMT Val(158)Met polymorphism influences its activity, and multiple neural correlates of this genotype on dopaminergic phenotypes, especially working memory, have been reported. COMT activity can also be regulated pharmacologically by COMT inhibitors. The inverted-U relationship between cortical dopamine signaling and work...