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The Plasma Cholinesterase Variants in Mentally Ill Patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Mary Whittaker ,
Maureen Berry ,
Mary Whittaker  and
Maureen Berry
Mary Whittaker
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, The University of Exeter
Maureen Berry
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, The University of Exeter
Mary Whittaker
Affiliation:
South Tees Hospital, Middlesbrough
Maureen Berry
Affiliation:
South Tees Hospital, Middlesbrough
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Summary

The distribution of the plasma cholinesterase variants found in 1,374 mentally ill patients differs from that of a random control sample. The patients are more likely to have a rare phenotype than an individual from the normal population. None of the diagnostic groups have been shown to differ in the distribution of the E1a gene, but there is strong statistical evidence that Group IV (psychosis) patients have a higher frequency of the E1f gene than the other groups. The overall frequency of the electrophoretic variant C5 + did not differ significantly from that observed in a Caucasian population, with the exception of the increase observed in Group IV c2.

Twenty-eight unrelated patients with Huntington's chorea were found to have a significantly altered incidence of the C5+ variant and six patients from this group were found to have the rare E1f gene. Our results indicate that the plasma cholinesterase variants may provide some insight into the inheritance of Huntington's chorea.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 130 , Issue 4 , April 1977 , pp. 397 - 404
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1977 

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