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Biochemical and molecular analysis of monoamine oxidase in alcoholics, high risk subjects and low risk controls

Alcoholism is a prevalent multifactorial disease with both genetic and environmental components. Monoamine oxidase (MAO) has been proposed as a susceptibility marker for familial alcoholism but consistent evidence of either specific MAO variants in alcoholics or allelic segregation in at-risk families has not been presented. Two structural genes on the X chromosome encode two forms of the enzyme, MAO-A and MAO-B. Kinetic constants for platelet MAO-B and restriction fragment length polymorphisms for MAO-A were determined in alcoholics with multigenerational family histories of alcoholism, high risk relatives of familial alcoholics and low risk controls with no family history of alcoholism. Mean elevated levels of MAO-B deamination were observed in alcoholics and high risk individuals. Alcoholic and high risk individuals did not differ from non-alcoholics with respect to MAO-B tryptamine affinity or MAO-A polymorphisms. Significant non-genetic factors influence MAO-B activity. MAO variants are unlikely to define a genetic predisposition to alcoholism.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.61088
Date January 1991
CreatorsParboosingh, Jillian S.
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Science (Department of Biology.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 001271637, proquestno: AAIMM74688, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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