Catechol-o-methyltransferase Val158Met Polymorphism: Modulation Of Wearing-off Susceptibility In A Chinese Cohort Of Parkinson’s Disease

Catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT) is one of the cardinal enzymes that metabolize dopamine and other catecholamine neurotransmitters in the central and peripheral nervous system. The purpose of this study was to characterize the correlation between the Val158 Met polymorphism in the COMT gene and the motor complication “wearing-off” in PD patients. We have sequenced the COMT gene in 259 PD patients and 257 healthy controls. At baseline, the distribution of the COMT polymorphism was not significantly different among patients and controls, of which levodopa dosage equivalence, onset of age, and disease duration were also no different in PD patients. Our results demonstrated that Met/Met homozygosity of the COMT Val158 Met polymorphism was related to a decreased risk of developing wearing-off(p<0.001). This finding suggests that COMT Val158 Met may affect susceptibility to wearing-off in PD.