Polymorphisms in the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 1 and 2B subunits are associated with alcoholism-related traits.

Abstract Background This study examined the hypothesis that allelic variants of the ionotropic glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) are associated with vulnerability to alcoholism and some related traits. Methods We investigated the silent G2108A and C2664T polymorphisms of the NMDAR1 and the NMDAR2B genes, respectively. The case control study included 367 alcoholic and 335 control subjects of German origin. The family-based study comprised 81 Polish alcoholic patients and their parents using the transmission disequilibrium test. Results The genotype frequencies of the NMDAR1 polymorphism differed significantly between control and alcoholic subjects. This difference was also …