COMT158 polymorphism and hostility

The main study was designed primarily to compare the clinical effects of four antipsychotics in 157 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The secondary genetic study, reported here, is based on a subset of 60 patients who consented to genotyping assays. Based on previous work with the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) 158 polymorphism, we hypothesized that the Met–Met homozygotes would be more hostile than the heterozygotes and the Val–Val homozygotes. Hostility ratings at baseline were used to test this hypothesis. The Met–Met homozygotes (N = 7) were found to have significantly higher levels of hostility than the other patients (N = 53). The hypothesis was thus supported. The finding should be replicated in a larger sample. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.