Wednesday, January 14, 2004


Yahoo! News - Researchers: Gene Seems Linked to Alcoholism Risk
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers said on Wednesday they had found a gene that seems to put people more at risk of alcoholism, but said they cannot yet explain how it works.

The study of more than 260 families showed that several different changes in the gene, called GABRG3, were linked with the risk of becoming an alcoholic. The gene is a receptor, or molecular doorway, for gamma-amino butyric acid, a message-carrying chemical, or neurotransmitter.

The findings, published in the January issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, do not suggest there is an "alcoholism gene," said Dr. Danielle Dick, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who led the study.

But now researchers can watch people with particular versions of the gene and see what other factors contribute to becoming an alcoholic.