JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
-
Using the dopamine D2 receptor clone lambda hD2G1, Blum et al recently found that the D2/Taq I allele (A1) was present in 69% of 35 deceased alcoholics but in only 20% of an equal number of controls. To assess this association further, we evaluated the D2/Taq I polymorphism and a single-strand conformation polymorphism detected by polymerase chain reaction and nondenaturing gel electrophoresis (PCR-SSCP) of the 3' noncoding region of the D2 receptor gene. We studied 40 unrelated white alcoholics, 127 racially matched controls, and two white pedigrees. ⋯ The PCR-SSCP polymorphism provided independent information against linkage at the D2 receptor locus. Several recombinants between the D2/Taq I locus and alcoholism were observed in two white families with an alcoholic parent who possessed the A1 allele. This study does not support a widespread or consistent association between the D2 receptor gene and alcoholism.