Reward Deficiency Syndrome in Children: Obesity and Metabolic Disorders are Associated with the SNP TaqIA C32806T of the DRD2 Gene.
Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) is a hypo-dopaminergic state that predisposes to obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Obesity is part of RDS since the individual is predisposed to reward-driven eating behavior that leads to overeating. The allele A1 of the SNP C32806T in Dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) is associated with reduction of DRD2 levels and higher BMI in adults. DRD2 are expressed in beta cells and modulate insulin secretion. The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between this SNP and obesity and metabolic alterations in children.
Fifty five obese children and 50 healthy controls were analyzed for DRD2 Taq1A polymorphism Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism. A report published in January 2014 conducted by the Overseas Development Institute in Britain shows a general picture of the evolution of the obesity in the world in the last 30 years. Adult overweight is observed in 70% of North American’s, and in 63% of Latin American’s, a significant increase compared to 30% observed in the 80’s.
About 60% of obese children, aged 5-10 years have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease (hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, impaired glucose metabolism, thrombotic risk factors) and 20% of these children have two or more of these factors. The DRD2 gene is highly polymorphic, and therefore, there are several SNPs described for it. The C32806T SNP, a C-T substitution located in a noncoding region of the DRD2 locus, affects the availability of the D2 receptor.
Obes Res Open J. 2015; 2(2): 64-72. doi: 10.17140/OROJ-2-111
