Association study of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and dopamine D3 receptor gene: is schizoaffective disorder special?

Alterations in dopamine neurotransmission have been hypothesized to play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia. We considered the dopamine D3 recept or gene on chromosome 3 as a candidate gene for an association analysis. We compared PCR-based genotype markers for healthy controls (n = 120) and pat ients (n = 95) with schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders as d iagnosed by consensus according to DSM-III-R. Our results possibly indicate an association of schizoaffective disorder with DRD3 homozygosity (P = 0.0 56). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.