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 Major IQ gene underlying homocysteine levels?
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| Author | Topic: Major IQ gene underlying homocysteine levels? |
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Volkmar Weiss Member |
posted 02-07-2003 10:05 AM
   
Barbaux et. al. (see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10790895&dopt=Abstract) investigated the distribution of functional polymorphisms in genes involved in homocysteine/folate metabolism in children with high IQ and in children with average IQ. No differences in the frequencies of genetic variants in the methionine synthase or methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase genes were found. However, the cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) 844ins68 allele was significantly underrepresented in children with high IQ. But, in the meantime, there have been already discovered a number of additional non-pathogenic common polymorphisms of CBS (see http://www.uchsc.edu/sm/cbs/cbsdata/polymorphism.htm)of which a possible relationship with IQ should be investigated. In this context it is quite interesting that in the paper by Yee et al. ("Major gene evidence after MTHFR-segregation analysis of serum homocysteine in families ... ",published in Human Genetics 111 (2002) 128-135, see http://link.springer.de/link/service/journals/00439/tocs/t2111002.htm)on page 133 a quantitative distribution of homocysteine levels is shown with nearly exactly such gene frequencies of a major gene polymorphism, as the frontpage of the book “Die IQ-Falle” claimes for the major gene of IQ (see http://www.volkmar-weiss.de/publ-e.html). The most probably biochemical cause of Yee’s genotypes of homocysteine levels is the effect of a common polymorphism of CBS (see http://www.volkmar-weiss.de/homocysteine.html , http://www.volkmar-weiss.de/majgenes.html and http://www.volkmar-weiss.de/intellig.html. The later papers are mirrored on an server of Stanford University by http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~terryh/ adding step by step http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~terryh/01Books/010Human-Paradigm/390Intelligence-IQ/050General-IQ.html and http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~terryh/01Books/010Human-Paradigm/390Intelligence-IQ/040IQ-and-Gene.html). The reigning doctrine believes that general cognitive ability and IQ, respectively, have a background of some hundred polygenes, all with very small contributions. Contrary to this, Weiss is convinced that general intelligence has a major gene locus, contributing up to 40% of the variance, two or three minor loci (dyslexia, … ) with few percent and, of course, a large number of loci with very small contributions, too. Beside CBS there are, of course, other loci which could, at the present state of knowledge, thought to be the underlying genetic cause of IQ differences. In view of the well-confirmed correlations between glutathione status and IQ, especially 1-Cys peroxiredoxin (see http://www.genome.ad.jp/dbget-bin/www_bget?swissprot-today+AOP2_HUMAN and http://www.genome.ad.jp/dbget-bin/www_bget?medline+20435792 ) seems to be worth a deeper investigation. A number of SNPs of this enzyme (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/UniGene/clust.cgi?ORG=Hs&CID=120)are already known, but nothing at all about gene frequencies. Who dares to begin with a systematic investigation? Dr. Volkmar Weiss Leipzig, Germany www.volkmar-weiss.de volkmar-weiss@t-online.de ------------------ IP: 62.225.117.79 |
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