Is catechol-o-methyltransferase gene polymorphism a risk factor in the development of premenstrual syndrome? / 대한생식의학회지

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate whether there was a correlation between catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) gene polymorphism, which is believed to play a role in the etiology of psychotic disorders, and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). METHODS: Fifty-three women with regular menstrual cycles, aged between 18 and 46 years and diagnosed with PMS according to the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology criteria were included in this study as the study group, and 53 healthy women having no health problems were selected as the controls. Venous blood was collected from all patients included in the study and kept at -18degrees C prior to analysis. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of demographic features such as age, body mass index, number of pregnancies, parity, and number of children. No statistically significant difference was observed in terms of COMT gene polymorphism (p=0.61) between women in the PMS and the control groups. However, a significant difference was found between arthralgia, which is an indicator of PMS, and low-enzyme activity COMT gene (Met/Met) polymorphism (p=0.04). CONCLUSION: These results suggested that there was no significant relationship between PMS and COMT gene polymorphism. Since we could not find a direct correlation between the COMT gene polymorphism and PMS, further studies including alternative neurotransmitter pathways are needed to find an effective treatment for this disease.

Prevalence of thromogenic gene mutations in women with recurrent miscarriage: A retrospective study of 1,507 patients

OBJECTIVE: Thromogenic gene mutations has been thought to be associated with recurrent pregnancy loss in women in Turkey. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of thromogenic gene mutations such as factor V Leiden (FVL, G1691T), prothrombin (G20210A), and the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR, C677T) mutation in women with recurrent pregnancy loss. METHODS: This descriptive study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Harran University School of Medicine, and included a total of 1,507 women with histories of recurrent pregnancy loss between January 2010 and June 2013. The mutations were assessed by using the polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The homozygous mutation frequencies of FVL, prothrombin, and MTHFR were found to be 3 (0.20%), 0 and 125 (8.29%), and the heterozygous mutation frequencies were 83 (5.51%), 61 (4.05%), and 612 (40.61%), respectively. Among the 86 FVL mutation patients, 38 also had accompanying prothrombin and MTHFR mutations. CONCLUSION: Since the homozygous forms of the FVL-prothrombin gene mutations have low incidences and MTHFR mutation is similar to a healthy population, preconceptional thromogenic gene mutations screening seems to be controversial.