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Influence of Val108/158Met COMT Gene Polymorphism on the Efficacy of Modified Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients with Treatment Resistant Depression

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Abstract

Depression is a common emotional disorder associated with increased risk of suicide and rate of disability. In this double-blinded control study, we tested the efficacy of modified electroconvulsive therapy (MECT) in patients with treatment resistant depression (TRD) using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD). The total scores of HAMD were found to be significantly decreased after the treatment. The genotyping of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) was carried out with polymerase chain reaction-based testing. Our results demonstrated that frequency of mutant COMT alleles in TRD patients was significantly higher than that of the controls indicating a correlation of the enzyme genotype to the occurrence of TRD. Moreover, the patients homozygous for wild-type COMT gene (G/G) were evidenced to be more sensitive to MECT treatment than those with an heterozygous mutant genotype (A/G).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangzhou Brain Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 36 Mingxin Rd, Liwan District, Guangzhou, 510370, People’s Republic of China

    Zhaoyu Lin, Hongbo He, Chunping Zhang, Zhijie Wang, Miaoling Jiang, Qirong Li, Xiaochang Lan, Minling Zhang & Xiong Huang

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  1. Zhaoyu Lin
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  2. Hongbo He
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  3. Chunping Zhang
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  4. Zhijie Wang
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  9. Xiong Huang
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Correspondence to Xiong Huang.

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Lin, Z., He, H., Zhang, C. et al. Influence of Val108/158Met COMT Gene Polymorphism on the Efficacy of Modified Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients with Treatment Resistant Depression. Cell Biochem Biophys 71, 1387–1393 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-014-0361-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-014-0361-2

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