Is There an Inherited Family Alcohol Gene?

The DSM-5 [1] currently requires the endorsement of any 2 of 11 criteria to reach the diagnostic threshold for AUD at the mild severity level. A study in Sweden followed alcohol use in twins who were adopted as children and reared apart. The incidence of alcoholism was slightly higher among people who were exposed to alcoholism only through their adoptive families.

Results of Genetic Analyses

The genetic connection to addiction comes through inherited levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter made in your brain. But does that mean your chance of addiction is essentially a coin flip if you have a family history of SUD? It’s a little more complicated than that, says addiction psychiatrist Akhil Anand, MD.

About the study

• Early association studies focused on a limited number of variants in or near genes selected a priori for their biological relevance to the trait of interest or physical location in the genome informed by prior linkage results.
• More than 1.2 million genotypes have been generated on 2,310 people from families of alcoholics and 1,238 people from control families.
• The genetic connection to addiction comes through inherited levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter made in your brain.
• Taking their first drink earlier puts them at risk of future problems with alcohol.
• “I’m convinced that the general approach that some of these companies are taking is going to be effective,” he says.

A short animated video from Vertex Pharmaceuticals explains the company’s approach to studying and treating APOL1-mediated kidney disease. But the reason they were recruited was because of which versions they had of the gene carrying instructions for making APOL1. Thirteen people with https://ecosoberhouse.com/ serious kidney disease given a new type of drug for three months had, on average, seen the amount of protein pathologically leaking into their urine fall by almost 50 percent. In this elemental test of kidney function, some participants saw an improvement of more than 70 percent.

• Additionalgenes have been identified that have expanded our understanding of the genes andpathways involved; however, the number of findings to date is modest.
• The study will assess several markers of kidney health and how long it takes for people to progress to dialysis, transplant or death.
• Vertex’s approach of creating a small molecule that blocks the APOL1 protein is also being taken by Maze Therapeutics, a small biotech company in South San Francisco.
• Strikingly, people carrying two risk variants who contract HIV are tens of times more likely to develop kidney disease.
• Some underlying genetic issues can lead to alcoholism or increase the likelihood of drinking becoming a problem.
• However, several factors can protect people against an alcohol use disorder, even if they have a family history of the condition.

The genetics of alcohol dependence

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The alcohol flushing response is associated with the risk of depression

It results most commonly from diabetes or hypertension, but sometimes from infectious diseases like HIV, or from lupus, an autoimmune disease. Occasionally, it occurs in isolation, such as in a disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. FSGS often strikes children or younger adults, causing kidneys to degenerate with no other disease signs. The volunteers in 2023’s small inaxaplin trial all had FSGS, is alcoholism a hereditary disease and it has been central to uncovering APOL1’s importance. Moxey-Mims and her colleagues now hope to use APOL1 screening to transform policies around kidney transplantation. And with Vertex currently testing inaxaplin in a large, placebo-controlled trial, hopes are high that medical options will soon expand for the tens of millions of people globally whose APOL1 genes put them at risk of kidney failure.

• According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a person’s genetic makeup accounts for roughly half of their risk for developing an AUD.
• Early work in the field focused on genome-wide linkage and candidate gene association studies.
• You can also speak with your doctor or a mental health care provider if you have concerns about the likelihood of becoming an alcoholic when alcoholism runs in the family.
• They may increase the overall risk by increasing drinking, orreduce risk by reducing drinking.