BDNF and COMT interaction in determining clinical presentation of first-episode psychosis: data from the PICOS-Veneto study

Background/Objectives: Despite a huge increase in reports on susceptibility genes, none of them has unambiguously been associated with psychosis. These disappointing results confirm the complexity of biological mechanisms leading to psychosis and suggest that genes might interact to determine a particular phenotype. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and catechol-O-aminetransferase (COMT) genes are both involved in dopamine transmission pathways: Thus, it is meaningful to hypothesize that they may interact in the pathophysiology of psychosis. The present study aims to test whether BDNF x COMT interaction m…