Association between PLA2G6 gene polymorphism for calcium-independent phospholipase A2 and nicotine dependence among males with schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia smoke at an estimated prevalence of 70 – 80%, significantly higher than the prevalence of smoking in the general population [1–3]. Smoking may be an attempt by patients to self-medicate, as it alleviates both negative and positive symptoms, the extrapyramidal side effects of antipsychotic medications, and the cognitive deficits that are suggested to be associated with hypodopaminergia in the prefrontal cortex [4–6]. High comorbidity between schizophrenia and smoking may also be due to pleiotropy, or shared genetic liability, and such pleiotropic associations are likely to involve genes in the dopamine signaling pathway, such as dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2), alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (CHRNA7), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) [6–8].

Source: Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids - July 2, 2019 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Sergej Nadalin, Jelena Rebi ć, Vesna Šendula Jengić, Vjekoslav Peitl, Dalibor Karlović, Alena Buretić-Tomljanović Source Type: research