TYROSINE-HYDROXYLASE AND DOPAMINE D4 RECEPTOR ALLELIC DISTRIBUTION INSCANDINAVIAN CHRONIC-ALCOHOLICS

Associations of polymorphic genetic markers at the tyrosine hydroxylas e (TH) and dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) loci were examined in Scandinav ian chronic alcoholics (n = 72) and control subjects (n = 67). Patient s were divided into subgroups with regard to the presence of parental alcoholism and age of onset. Neither the TH nor the DRD4 allele distri butions were significantly different when alcoholic samples were compa red with control subjects. However, a tendency to high prevalence for 1 of the 5 TH alleles assayed (TH-K3) was observed in a subsample of 4 4 alcoholics characterized by late onset when compared with control su bjects (27.3% vs. 10.6%, p = 0.041). Results suggest that no major inf luence on alcoholism is exerted through genes associated with the DRD4 or TH allelic markers examined.