Association between ABCB1 C3435T polymorphism and drug-resistant epilepsy in Han Chinese

Abstract

There is accumulating evidence to suggest that overexpression of efflux drug transporters at the blood-brain barrier, by reducing antiepileptic drug (AED) accumulation in the seizure foci, contributes to drug resistance in epilepsy. P-glycoprotein, encoded by the ABCB1 gene, is the most studied drug transporter. There are conflicting data as to whether the CC genotype of the ABCB1 3435C > T polymorphism is associated with drug resistance in Caucasian patients with epilepsy. We investigated this association in ethnic Chinese. ABCB1 3435C > T was genotyped in 746 Han Chinese patients with epilepsy and 179 controls. Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy were more likely to have the TT genotype ..