Genetic influences on response to alcohol and response to pharmacotherapies for alcoholism.

ABSTRACT: Although very many individuals drink alcohol at safe levels, a significant proportion escalates their consumption with addiction as the end result. Alcoholism is a common, moderately heritable, psychiatric disorder that is accompanied by considerable morbidity and mortality. Variation in clinical presentation suggests inter-individual variation in mechanisms of vulnerability including genetic risk factors. The development of addiction is likely to involve numerous functional genetic variants of small effects. The first part of this review will focus on genetic factors underlying inter-individual variability in response to alcohol consumption, including variants in alcohol metabolizing genes that produce an aversive response (the flushing syndrome) and variants that predict the level of sub

SUBMITTER: Enoch MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4016188 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature