NEURONAL NICOTINIC ACETYLCHOLINE-RECEPTOR ALPHA-4 SUBUNIT (CHRNA4) AND PANIC DISORDER - AN ASSOCIATION STUDY

Anxiety disorders have been reported to be associated with low-voltage EEG (LVEEG). Some cases with LVEEG (approximately 1/3) have been link ed to chromosome 20q13.2-q13.3. In the same chromosomal region, the ge ne for the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha 4 subunit ( CHRNA4) has been located. We therefore tested the hypothesis that poly morphisms in the CHRNA4 gene show an allelic association with panic di sorder, We examined the allele frequencies of three different CHRNA4 p olymorphisms in patients with panic disorder and in healthy controls, No significant differences in the allele frequencies of these three po lymorphisms were noted. This study does not support an association bet ween panic disorder and the CHRNA4 gene, (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.