A Negative Study of the Association between Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha-308G/A Polymorphism and Schizophrenia among Taiwanese Patients

Objectives: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) has been related to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia through its involvement in the processes of neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. We examined the association between the TNF-α -308G/A polymorphism and schizophrenia in Taiwanese samples. Methods : The association analysis was performed using both a case- control and a family- based association design. The case- control sample comprised 124 patients and 119 controls; the family-based sample included 80 parent-offspring trio families. Results: No signifi cant difference was found in genotype or allele frequencies between patients with schizophrenia and controls. No signifi cant transmission distortion of the polymorphism was found in the family sample. Conclusion: Our results suggest that -308 G/A polymorphism in the TNF-α gene does not confer increased susceptibility to schizophrenia in this population of Han Chinese ethnicity from Taiwan.