LOW MAO ACTIVITY AGAIN IMPLICATED IN VIOLENCE

A new study adds to evidence implicating low activity of platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) as a risk factor for violent behavior (see related articles, Crime Times, 2002, Vol. 8, No. 4, Page 1 and Crime Times, 1995, Vol. 1, No. 3, Page 1).

M. Skondras and colleagues compared 82 male offenders, imprisoned for homicide or other violent acts, to 54 non-violent, non-criminal men. The researchers factored in the effects of smoking, which can affect MAO activity.

"Platelet MAO activity was significantly lower in the offenders group compared to controls," the researchers report, adding that the difference could not be attributed to smoking, and appeared to be related to personality traits and behaviors characteristic of the offenders.

"Platelet monoamine oxidase activity and psychometric correlates in male violent offenders imprisoned for homicide or other violent acts," M. Skondras, M. Markianos, A. Botsis, E. Bistolaki, and G. Christodoulou, European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, Vol. 254, No. 6, December 2004, 380-6. Address: M. Skondras, Athens University Medical School, Eginition Hospital, Psychiatric Department, Laboratory of Clinical Neurochemistry, Athens, Greece.