2008 - 2009 Publications > Genetics of Alcohol Dependence

Recent Findings

CHRNA5/A3/B4 Gene Cluster association with alcoholism

• Schlaepfer IR et al Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Jun 1;63(11):1039-46 report that the CHRNA5/A3/B4 Gene Cluster Variability as an Important Determinant of Early Alcohol and Tobacco Initiation in Young Adults.

• Wang et al Mol Psychiatry. 2008 Apr 15 reports that variants in CHRNA3 and CHRNA5 associated with alcohol dependence in the COGA sample and in a family based study on cocaine dependence.

• Joslyn et al report that variants in CHRNA3 and CHRNA5 are associated with level of response to alcohol, an intermediate phenotype for alcohol used disorder. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Dec 23;105(51):20368-73

Molecular Genetics of Alcoholism and Alcohol

• Yang et al Hum Mol Genet. 2007 Dec 1;16(23):2844-53 report that risk for AD is attributable in part to variants in four regions within this cluster: exon 3 of TTC12, exon 12/intron13 of NCAM1 and exons 2 and 5 of ANKK1.  These genes are in LD with DRD2 and this result may explain the reason for conflicting results of DRD2 with AD.  These results are similar to those of Dick et al Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Oct;31(10):1645-53.

• Gelernter et al Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Jan 15;65(2):111-5 identified a genomewide-significant linkage to markers near 117.2 centiMorgans on chromosome 10q23.3-24.1 (logarithm of odds score 3.32; p = 5.0E-05; empirical genomewide p = .033 in African American for alcohol dependence

• Kozell et al Genes Brain Behav. 2008 Jul;7(5):560-7. have mapped a locus for alcohol physical dependence and associated withdrawal to a 1.1 Mb interval of mouse chromosome 1 syntenic with human chromosome 1q23.2-23.3.

• Wang et al Mol Psychiatry. 2008 Apr 15 reports that variants in CHRNA3 and CHRNA5 associated with alcohol dependence in the COGA sample and in a family based study on cocaine dependence.

• Joslyn et al report that variants in CHRNA3 and CHRNA5 are associated with level of response to alcohol, an intermediate phenotype for alcohol used disorder. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Dec 23;105(51):20368-73

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