Researchers Find Family Alcoholism Gene
U.S. researchers
have identified a gene associated with alcoholism in some families, it
was reported.
The scientists,
representing six centers, are taking part in a 15-year research project
known as the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. A report
published Thursday in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental
Research shows one version of the gene, GABRG3, predisposes people to alcoholism.
It is the first
study to link the gene to dependence on alcohol, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
said.
Earlier studies
of twins indicated at least a third of the susceptibility to alcoholism
is due to genetic factors, said William True of St. Louis University, who
conducted some of the twin studies.
The new study
takes previous genetic research a step further and will direct other researchers
to take a look at how this particular gene reacts to alcohol and how it
influences the propensity to alcoholism, True said.
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