Alpha 5 and beta 3 GABAA receptor genes are major candidates for epilepsy, as they code for subunits of the most important human inhibitory neurotransmitter. Moreover, they are located within a region of the human genome previously implicated in disorders including epilepsy. We carried out an association study between dinucleotide repeat polymorphisms in these two genes and juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). JME is the most common idiopathic epilepsy and is characterized by a complex mode of inheritance. We did not find significant differences between controls and patients for allele or genotype frequencies.