Genetic signs of alcoholism in women studied for the first time

Researchers at the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country have analyzed the incidence in the Spanish population of genetic variants linked to alcoholism

2013-02-19

(Press-News.org) This press release is available in Spanish.

Research done at the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country has determined the frequency of genetic variants linked to alcoholism for the Spanish population, and its incidence not only in individuals with a high level of alcohol intake, but also in individuals with alcohol dependence. Furthermore, the broad presence of women in the sample has made it possible, for the first time, to associate some of these genetic variants with a high level of alcohol intake in women. The results have been published in various top, international journals worldwide, like the journal Addiction, a leader in the field of misused substances.

Alcohol intake is a significant health and economic problem in Spain. Between 2% and 20% of the Spanish population are reckoned to be individuals who abuse alcohol intake, and even though it is not a unique problem since the aetiology of this imbalance has been established in genetics and in environmental variables, many studies have shown that there are genetic endowments that can confer greater susceptibility to alcoholism. For example, some variations in enzyme-encoding genes that break down the alcohol molecule are known to be closely associated with a higher intake, since they cause a variation in its metabolization rate which can be up to 30 times higher.

The pieces of research conducted by David Celorrio-Herrera of the BIOMICS research group at the UPV/EHU has focused on the study of different genetic variants in samples of the Spanish population for whom it has been possible to determine a statistically significant incidence in alcohol abuse. Specifically, the enzyme-encoding genes involved in the alcohol metabolization process and genes that encode receptors and enzymes linked to the dopaminergic system have been analysed. "The aetiology of addiction is due to a disorder in the system that regulates dopamine, since this neurotransmitter modulates the reward-response system in the brain," remarks Celorrio.

The incidence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) —variations of a single "letter" on specific points of the gene— has been studied in all the cases. Within the family of metabolic genes the SNPs of the genes ADH1A-ADH1B-ADH1C, ADH4, ADH6, ALDH2 and CYP2E1 have been analysed; "70 % of the alcohol is broken down by enzymes encoded by these genes" points out Celorrio. Of the genes in the dopaminergic system, the SNPs analysed correspond to the genes TH, SLC18A2, DRD1, DRD2, DRD3, MAOA and COMT, "being the ones linked to the entire useful life of the dopamine: its production, delivery, action in the presence of receptors and destruction," adds the author. The incidence of the two families of genes has been analysed in two groups of population samples: 1-excessive consumers and 2-patients with dependence.

Among the excessive consumers, polymorphisms that significantly increase the risk associated with the hazardous intake of this substance were found in the ADH1B and DRD2 genes for both sexes and in the MAOA gene in women only. The analysis of the environmental variables together with the hazardous intake of alcohol displayed a high-risk profile: men, smokers, heavy consumers of meat and low consumers of fruit and vegetables, with occupations not requiring a high level of qualifications and physically not very active.

On the other hand, a significant association of alcohol dependence with polymorphisms in genes of the metabolism and dopaminergic route was observed with an SNP of the ADH1B gene in both sexes and with SNPs of TH, COMT, DRD2 in men only, whereas the association with DRD3 occurred in women alone.

The study of excessive consumers was carried out on a sample of 1,533 individuals (653 cases and 880 controls) originating in the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) project, of whom half were men and the other half women. The critical value of inclusion in this group was the intake of alcohol in excess of 70 g/day in men and 42 g/day in women, values very similar to the WHO classification for the group of "individuals with hazardous intake".

The large size of the sample enabled stratification by sex and adjustment by environmental variables which affect alcohol intake to be done, "which makes the results obtained highly reliable," explains Celorrio. "Until now, the Spanish Caucasian population has been studied by means of small samples and with very few women," he adds. The results relating to the metabolic genes have been published in the journal Addiction.

Due to obtainment difficulties, in the study on patients with dependence it was not possible to have such a large sample, so the author prudently stresses that the results obtained are not so conclusive. The gathering of these samples was conducted in collaboration with various alcoholism treatment centres: the Psychiatric Hospital of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the mental health clinics Novia Salcedo and Uribe-Kosta in Bizkaia, the Hospital Donostia in Donostia-San Sebastian and the Zuria Outpatients' Hospital for Drug Dependence in Iruñea-Pamplona, and were compiled over more than three years.

INFORMATION:

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Coming to a smartphone near you: Personalized experiences

2013-02-19

CHESTNUT HILL, MA (February 19, 2013) – Say au revoir to the concierge. The proliferation of technology focused on finding the best tickets, the hottest restaurants or the next flight out of town may mean it's time to bid adieu to the concierge and other traditional service information gatekeepers, according to new research. Face-to-face interactions with front desk clerks and concierges are not essential for personalized service, and increasingly these encounters are being substituted with Smartphone apps and other automated service systems, according to a study in ...

'Growing' medicines in plants requires new regulations

2013-02-19

Scientists say amending an EU directive on GMOs could help stimulate innovation in making vaccines, cheaper pharmaceuticals and organic plastics using plants. In a paper to be published in Current Pharmaceutical Design, six scientists from the US and Europe compare risk assessment and regulation between the two continents. They will run a web chat on the subject with Sense About Science from 12-1 on Wednesday 20th February. In the EU, plant-made pharmaceuticals have to be authorised in the same way as GM agricultural crops. In theory, agricultural crops can be grown ...

Quick, efficient chip cleans up common flaws in amateur photographs

2013-02-19

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Your smartphone snapshots could be instantly converted into professional-looking photographs with just the touch of a button, thanks to a processor chip developed at MIT. The chip, built by a team at MIT's Microsystems Technology Laboratory, can perform tasks such as creating more realistic or enhanced lighting in a shot without destroying the scene's ambience, in just a fraction of a second. The technology could be integrated with any smartphone, tablet computer or digital camera. Existing computational photography systems tend to be software applications ...

Abnormal growth regulation may occur in children with heart defects

2013-02-19

The poor growth seen in children born with complex heart defects may result from factors beyond deficient nutrition. A new study by pediatric researchers suggests that abnormalities in overall growth regulation play a role. "When compared with their healthy peers, children with congenital heart disease have impaired growth, as measured in weight, length, and head circumference," said senior author Meryl S. Cohen, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist in the Cardiac Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "We investigated patterns of poor growth in these children, ...

Is there a link between childhood obesity and ADHD, learning disabilities?

2013-02-19

URBANA – A University of Illinois study has established a possible link between high-fat diets and such childhood brain-based conditions as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and memory-dependent learning disabilities. "We found that a high-fat diet rapidly affected dopamine metabolism in the brains of juvenile mice, triggering anxious behaviors and learning deficiencies. Interestingly, when methylphenidate (Ritalin) was administered, the learning and memory problems went away," said Gregory Freund, a professor in the U of I College of Medicine and a member ...

Steroid injection may lead to worse outcomes in patients with spinal stenosis

2013-02-19

Philadelphia, Pa. (February 19, 2013) - For patients with spinal stenosis, epidural steroid injections (ESI) may actually lead to worse outcomes—whether or not the patient later undergoes surgery, according to a study in the February 15 issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. The study raises questions about the benefits of steroid injection—a widely used treatment for the common problem of spinal stenosis in the lower (lumbar) spine. "There was no improvement in outcome with ESI whether patients were ...

Thigh fat may be to blame for older adults who slow down

2013-02-19

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Feb. 19, 2013 – A new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center shows that an increase in fat throughout the thigh is predictive of mobility loss in otherwise healthy older adults. Lead author Kristen Beavers, Ph.D., and colleagues at Wake Forest Baptist said the findings suggest that prevention of age-related declines in walking speed isn't just about preserving muscle mass, it's also about preventing fat gain. Walking speed declines with age, said Beavers, and in older adults slower walking speed is a predictor of disability, nursing home ...

Degenerative cervical spine disease may not progress over time

2013-02-19

Philadelphia, Pa. (February 19, 2013) - Follow-up data on patients with degenerative disease of the upper (cervical) spinal vertebrae show little or no evidence of worsening degeneration over time, according to a study in the February 15 issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. For many patients with "unstable" cervical degenerative spondylolisthesis, observation may be a better choice than surgery, according to the new research by Dr Moon Soo Park and colleagues of Medical College of Hallym University, ...

Breakthrough study opens door to broader biomedical applications for Raman spectroscopy

2013-02-19

Amsterdam, NL, 19 February 2013 – Raman spectroscopy has enabled incredible advances in numerous scientific fields and is a powerful tool for tissue classification and disease recognition, although there have been considerable challenges to using the method in a clinical setting. Scientists have now demonstrated the advantages of wavelength-modulated Raman spectroscopy, opening the door to wider biomedical and clinical applications such as real-time assessment of tissues during surgery. This study is published in Biomedical Spectroscopy and Imaging. The inelastic scattering ...

Males' superior spatial ability likely is not an evolutionary adaptation

2013-02-19

Males and females differ in a lot of traits (besides the obvious ones) and some evolutionary psychologists have proposed hypotheses to explain why. Some argue, for example, that males' slight, but significant, superiority in spatial navigation over females – a phenomenon demonstrated repeatedly in many species, including humans – is probably "adaptive," meaning that over the course of evolutionary history the trait gave males an advantage that led them to have more offspring than their peers. A new analysis published in The Quarterly Review of Biology found no support ...

Genetic signs of alcoholism in women studied for the first time

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: