Recent advances in genetic studies of alcohol use disorders

Alcoholism has a substantial impact on both mental and physical health and can present different features among affected individuals. Due to this, the mechanisms and possible causes of alcoholism cannot be as easily identified as diseases such as hemophilia, which presents clear physical symptoms. But in the decades since Angier’s article, scientists have made strides in figuring out the mystery of what really underlies this unique disease. The interaction between alcoholism and genetics can impact whether or not a family member also becomes an alcoholic.

Factors influencing AUD

• While many studies have been done, and experts agree that there is a hereditary connection, genetics is not the only factor, and we don’t quite know the full impact it has on alcoholism.
• The COGA initiative is focused on optimizing the use of the past COGA data and completing data collection across the lifespan.
• COGA is one of the few family‐based genetic projects with a significant number of African Americans, who are greatly underrepresented in such studies, particularly those with family‐based designs.
• The ADH risk variants may contribute to the development of alcoholism directly by promoting heavy drinking, whereas the GABRA2 variants predispose a person to conduct problems, which are themselves a risk factor for alcoholism.
• Alcohol use disorder (AUD) can have a hereditary component, but not everyone living with AUD has a family history of AUD.

The exception is nicotine addiction with which there is a strong genetic correlation 1. PECRis located within broad linkage peaks for several alcohol-related traits,including alcoholism66,comorbid alcoholism and depression67, level of response to alcohol68, and amplitude of the P3(00)response69, 70. Moreover, aggressive marketing strategies by alcohol brands, offering promotions and discounts, can further entice individuals, especially those with a genetic predisposition to alcoholism, to indulge more than they might have otherwise.

INTRODUCTION: GENETIC ANALYSES IN THE COGA PROJECT

• This ALDH1 gene variant has since been found to be common in Asian populations–seen in 44 percent of Japanese, 53 percent of Vietnamese, 27 percent of Koreans and 30 percent of Chinese (including 45 percent of Han Chinese)–yet it is rare in people of European descent.
• The incidence of alcoholism was slightly higher among people who were exposed to alcoholism only through their adoptive families.
• Drug use and addiction represent a public health crisis, characterized by high social, emotional, and financial costs to families, communities, and society.
• Janowsky’s group proposed that muscarinic supersensitivity–that is, an enhanced effect of acetylcholine on the muscarinic cholinergic receptors–in persons prone to depression and related conditions was an underlying source of imbalance in the brain.
• While there is overlap between alcohol use disorder and alcohol consumption, the researchers did further analysis and found a “distinct genetic architecture” differentiating alcohol abuse from alcohol consumption.

In 1990, Blum et al. proposed an association between the A1 allele of the DRD2 gene and alcoholism. The DRD2 gene was the first candidate gene that showed promise of an association with alcoholism. Is there any scientific evidence that your genes may predispose you to have an alcohol dependency if your parents or grandparents did? While many studies have been done, and experts agree that there is a hereditary connection, genetics is not the only factor, and we don’t quite know the full impact it has on alcoholism.

Genetics and alcoholism

Some underlying genetic issues can lead to alcoholism or increase the likelihood of drinking becoming a problem. Remember,research has shown that genetics are responsible for about 50%of the risk a person has for developing https://osblog.ru/vliyanie-socialnyh-setei-na-cheloveka-socialnaya-set-eto-zlo-kak-socialnye/ alcohol use disorder. The goals of this renewal concept are to continue to integrate and share COGA data and to continue to add data across the lifecycle, specifically in the adolescent and young adult (Prospective Study) and older adult (Lifespan Study) cohorts. Over the past few years numerous whole genome linkage studies have been performed in which the inheritance of phenotypes and genetic markers is followed in families 12,40.

“Using genomics, we can create a data-driven pipeline to prioritize existing medications for further study and improve chances of discovering new treatments. NIAAA’s “Core Resource,” although intended for health care professionals, has helpful information for the public as well. One NIAAA-supported study, the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism Project (COGA),  explores how genes affect vulnerability to AUD, and has an easy-to-understand web resource about alcohol and genetics.

Further, most clinical trials and behavioral studies have focused on individual substances, rather than addiction more broadly. Alcohol tolerance means that equal amounts of alcohol lead to lesser effects over time, generating a need for higher quantities of alcohol to feel the same desired effects.2 While it may seem like there is a genetic predisposition for alcohol tolerance, tolerance is not inherited. “These genes are for risk, not for destiny,” stressed Dr. Enoch Gordis, http://www.endeav.org/page.php?id=62&print=page director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Recent findings:

Researchers from the IU Alcohol Research Center used animal models to explore the genetics of alcohol use disorder. Analyzing 3 billion DNA base pairs across 70 animals, they identified genes linked to drinking behaviors. Recent research from Indiana University has shed light on the significant role genes play in the development of alcohol use disorders (AUDs). The study, led by Feng Zhou, Ph.D., professor emeritus of anatomy, cell biology, and physiology at IU School of Medicine, discovered that altering a group of genes known to influence neuronal plasticity and pain perceptions is linked to AUDs. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a subset of the government’s health-focused .gov entities, has been at the forefront of alcohol research.

This use of scientific knowledge is surely inevitable, especially in free nations with capitalist economies, where it will be market-driven and competitive. The scientific and academic communities must therefore help guide this process by distinguishing true physiological relations from false claims and by https://solnysh.ru/en/ encouraging socially responsible uses for these discoveries. Our research group recently discovered, for example, that variation in a gene encoding a receptor involved in taste perception, known as hTAS2R16, is significantly linked to alcoholism in the COGA subjects. The risk variant, which causes decreased sensitivity to many bitter taste compounds, is uncommon in European Americans, whereas 45 percent of African-Americans carry this version, making it a much more significant risk factor in that population.

Environmental Risk Factors for Alcoholism

While there is overlap between alcohol use disorder and alcohol consumption, the researchers did further analysis and found a “distinct genetic architecture” differentiating alcohol abuse from alcohol consumption. And these distinctions will be important for identifying the genetics of addiction, the researchers said. With rapid advances over the past 10 years in technologies for discovering and analyzing the functions of genes, researchers are now increasingly able to get at the biological roots of complex disorders such as substance abuse and addiction. Compared to other genetic predictors, the genomic pattern identified here was also a more sensitive predictor of having two or more substance use disorders at once. The genomic pattern linked to general addiction risk also predicted higher risk of mental and physical illness, including psychiatric disorders, suicidal behavior, respiratory disease, heart disease, and chronic pain conditions.