The Association between the Dopamine $D_1$ Receptor Genotype and Treatment Response in Korean Schizophrenic Patients

정신분열병 환자의 도파민 $D_1$ 수용체 유전자형과 치료반응간의 연관

Background : Dopamine receptors have been regarded as a strong candidate involved in etiology of schizophrenia and a target for various antipsychotic drugs. The purpose of our study was to investigate whether dopamine $D_1$ receptor(DRD1) gene polymorphisms would predict the treatment response to antipsychotics in schizophrenia. Method : One hundred thirty-four schizophrenic patients, who met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia were entered into a 48 -week study. The psychopathology of the patients was assessed at baseline, 12th, 24th 48th weeks of treatment by PANSS. Responders were defined by a 20% of the reduction in total PANSS score at end point. The genomic DNA fragment corresponding to nucleotides of dopamine $D_1$ receptor gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR). Result: Neither allelic frequencies nor genotypes for dopamine $D_1$ receptor differed significantly between responders and non-responders. Also, there was no difference of changes of PANSS scores among three genotype groups of the dopamine $D_1$ receptor. Conclusion : Allelic variation in the dopamine $D_1$ gene is not associated with individual differences in antipsychotic response.