Population and pharmacogenetic studies on serum cholinesterase (E): estimates of theE 1 andE 2 allele frequencies for the population of Central Italy, and of the correlation between E activity and sensitivity to succinylcholine (SCC)

392 random patients treated with SCC prior to surgery were assayed for pseudocholinesterase activity and electrophoretic pattern. The estimate of the percent frequencies of theE 1 a allele were 1.16±0.38 and of the C5 (+) phenotype 9.7±1.5, both typical of Caucasian populations. By combining the presentE 1 a gene frequency estimate with that from another sample of the same population (Cermele et al., 1987) a better estimate with smaller confidence limits was obtained, that is: 1,14±0,27. One subject interpreted asE 1 a E 1 a on phenotypic grounds was also found (expected 0,05) in this random sample.