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Age and the relationship of dopamine D3, serotonin 2C and serotonin 2A receptor genes to abnormal involuntary movements in chronic schizophrenia

Molecular Psychiatry volume 7, pages 137–139 (2002)Cite this article

SIR – Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a serious, treatment-refractory movement disorder which develops in patients chronically exposed to antipsychotic drugs that block dopamine D2 receptors. Since, on average, only about one fifth of patients develop the disorder,1 there is considerable interest in identifying factors that might underlie individual sensitivity. In a recent issue of Molecular Psychiatry, we reported association of TD with the serotonin 2A receptor gene (HTR2A).2 This receptor is implicated in the mechanism of action of atypical antipsychotic drugs that have a lower propensity to induce TD. Our positive findings were for the silent T102C polymorphism in the coding region and the A-1438G polymorphism in the promoter, which were in complete linkage disequilibrium in our sample. Patients with TD had a significant excess of 102C and −1438G alleles and of 102CC and −1438GG genotypes compared to patients without TD and normal control subjects. Patients carrying the 102CC and −1438GG genotypes had significantly higher scores on the sub-scales of the Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale (AIMS) that measure dyskinetic trunk movements and degree of incapacitation.

In the same issue of Molecular Psychiatry, Basile et al,3 to whom we had communicated our unpublished findings, reported no allelic or genotypic association of the same polymorphisms in HTR2A with TD. Their patients carrying 102CC and −1438GG genotypes did not have higher AIMS total scores than patients homozygous for the wild-type allele. AIMS sub-scale scores were not reported. This disparity contrasts with similar findings of the two groups in the same patient samples in regard to association of the dopamine D3 receptor gene (DRD3) with TD.4,5

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  1. Department of Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel

    R H Segman & B Lerer

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  1. R H Segman
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  2. B Lerer
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Correspondence to R H Segman or B Lerer.

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Segman, R., Lerer, B. Age and the relationship of dopamine D3, serotonin 2C and serotonin 2A receptor genes to abnormal involuntary movements in chronic schizophrenia. Mol Psychiatry 7, 137–139 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4000960

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