https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Index en-au 5 https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:21387 Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism, a common genetic variant known to affect cognition and prefrontal dopamine levels. Participants were 429 schizophrenia/schizoaffective cases from the Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank (ASRB). Cognitive performance was assessed using the Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT), Letter Number Sequencing (LNS) test, and the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR). Hierarchical regression was used to test the main effects and additive interaction effects of genotype and childhood trauma in the domains of physical abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect, on cognition and symptom profiles of clinical cases. Consistent with previous findings, COMT Val homozygotes performed worse on cognitive measures in the absence of childhood adversity. In addition, a significant interaction between COMT genotype and physical abuse was associated with better executive function in Val homozygotes, relative to those of the same genotype with no history of abuse. Finally, the severity of positive symptoms was greater in Met carriers who had experienced physical abuse, and the severity of negative symptoms in Met carriers was greater in the presence of emotional neglect. These results suggest that the possible epigenetic modulation of the expression of the COMT Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism and consequent effects on cognition and symptoms in schizophrenia, with worse outcomes associated with adverse childhood experiences in Met carriers.]]> Sat 24 Mar 2018 08:05:04 AEDT ]]> https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:17373 Sat 24 Mar 2018 08:01:32 AEDT ]]> https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:26307 Sat 24 Mar 2018 07:40:40 AEDT ]]> https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:22863 IL-1beta-511C/T polymorphism and smoking behavior in schizophrenia versus healthy controls in a Chinese population. The IL-1beta-511C/T polymorphism was genotyped in 638 male patients with chronic schizophrenia (smoker/never-smoker=486/152) and 469 male controls (smoker/never-smoker=243/226). The cigarettes smoked per day, the Heaviness of Smoking Index (HSI) and the Fagerstrom Test for nicotine dependence (FTND) were assessed. Patients were also rated on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The results showed no significant differences in genotype and allele distribution between patients and controls, and between smokers and never-smokers in either the patient or control group. However, in patients, smokers with the C/C genotype had significantly higher HSI (p<0.005) and FTND (p<0.05) scores than smokers with the T/T genotype, without significant differences in controls. Furthermore, there was a linear positive correlation between the number of C alleles and the HSI (p<0.005) in patients. Our findings suggest that the IL-1beta-511C/T polymorphism may not be related to schizophrenia or smoking status in Chinese individuals, but may affect the severity of nicotine dependence among male smokers with schizophrenia.]]> Sat 24 Mar 2018 07:16:01 AEDT ]]>