A pilot study of early onset obsessive-compulsive disorder: Symptom dimensions and association analysis with polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter gene.

Our aim was to introduce more homogenous phenotypes for studying genetic variations in the clinically heterogeneous obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) beside classical case-control analysis. Symptoms were assessed with Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS), and principle component analysis of the lifetime symptom categories yielded four factors (Cleaning, Obsessive, Compulsive, Sexual). The comparison of serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) in 102 OCD patients and 223 controls showed an increased L-allele frequency but no difference was observed when rs25531 was included.

Association analysis of norepinephrine transporter polymorphisms and methylphenidate response in ADHD patients.

Aims: Methylphenidate (MPH) is the most frequently prescribed drug in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Hitherto mostly the dopamine transporter gene has been studied in MPH-response and only a few studies analyzed the norepinephrine transporter (NET, SLC6A2) gene, although MPH is a potent inhibitor of both dopamine and norepinephrine transporters. We aimed to analyze this monoamine transporter gene in relation to ADHD per se and MPH-response in particular to gain further knowledge in ADHD pharmacogenetics using a Caucasian sample.

Individual differences in flow proneness are linked to a dopamine D2 receptor gene variant.

Flow is a special mental state characterized by deep concentration that occurs during the performance of optimally challenging tasks. In prior studies, proneness to experience flow has been found to be moderately heritable. In the present study, we investigated whether individual differences in flow proneness are related to a polymorphism of the dopamine D2 receptor coding gene (DRD2 C957T rs6277).