process

Catecholamine degradation (methylation)

The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene plays a role in degrading dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, all three of which are neurotransmitters collectively known as the catecholamines (Winterer & Goldman 2003). The gene appears to operate by regulating what is known as the COMT enzyme; the more the activity, the more readily the catecholamines are degraded. At least three different versions of the COMT gene have evolved. One is called the val/val COMT allele; it is associated with the highest COMT enzyme activity. Another is the met/met COMT allele, which is associated with the lowest COMT activity. Finally, there is the heterozygotic form called the val/met COMT allele; it is associated with intermediate COMT activity. The val/val COMT allele confers three- to four times more COMT enzyme degrading activity as does the met/met COMT allele (Lachman et al. 1996).

Ref:
Lee Ellis, David P. Farrington, Anthony W. Hoskin, Chapter 7 - Biological Factors, Editor(s): Lee Ellis, David P. Farrington, Anthony W. Hoskin, Handbook of Crime Correlates (Second Edition), Academic Press, 2019, Pages 307-387, ISBN 9780128044179, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804417-9.00007-7. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128044179000077)

20 confidence points
0 comments
Added on Oct 22, 2022 by Barbara Van De Keer
Edited on Oct 22, 2022 by Barbara Van De Keer

Join Ninatoka!!

NinatoKa's goal is to support you as a therapist in unravelling the illness pathway from symptoms to cause, and to help you detect potential interventions.

Go to Explore to start your discovery!

Go to Learn to scroll through newly added data.

Go to Contribute to contribute to the Ninatoka database.

You can rate content up or down and add comments if you agree or disagree.