29 "genes of alcoholism"
Scientists have found out who is genetically contraindicated alcohol
American scientists have identified 29 gene variants responsible for predisposition to alcohol addiction. Nineteen of them were discovered for the first time, and many have common links with mental disorders, behavior and cognitive abilities. The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Neuroscience (Zhou et al., Genome-wide meta-analysis of problematic alcohol use in 435,563 individuals yields insights into biology and relationships with other traits – VM).
American biologists and physicians from Yale University and their colleagues from other universities conducted a genomic analysis of more than 435 thousand people to search for genes that determine a person's predisposition to alcohol addiction and related mental disorders. Scientists wanted to understand whether it is possible to determine by genes who has high-risk alcohol consumption will lead to disorders and addiction.
The researchers identified 29 such genetic risk factors, of which ten were known earlier, and 19 were identified for the first time.
"The new data are three times higher than the number of known genetic risk loci associated with problematic alcohol use," Joel Gelernter, head of the study, professor of the Psychiatry Foundation and professor of genetics and neurobiology at Yale University, is quoted in a press release as saying (in a press release, Problems with alcohol? 29 gene variants may explain why – VM).
The study included an analysis of the genomes of people of European origin located in four separate biobanks. The authors looked for common loci – the locations of certain genes in the sequence in people with alcoholism or alcohol-related diseases. Separately, scientists analyzed information about genetic risk factors for a number of mental disorders.
Combining the data from two genetic studies and their joint analysis showed that there are genetic links between problematic alcohol use and disorders such as depression and anxiety, as well as behavior and learning ability. Using the technique of Mendelian randomization, a mathematical method used by biologists to process genetic information, scientists have determined how related traits affect each other.
"This gives us the opportunity to understand the causal relationships between problematic signs of alcohol use, such as psychiatric conditions, risky behavior and cognitive abilities," says lead author of the study Hang Zhou (Hang Zhou), a researcher in the field of psychiatry from Yale University.
Scientists have also found that the risk factors they found are inherited not only at the brain level, but also in conservative regulatory regions of the genome that are responsible for certain biological functions.
The authors believe that the genetic factors of alcoholism and related medical and behavioral problems identified by them will make it possible to correctly assess the risk of alcohol consumption for each individual.
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