Is Alcoholism Genetic?

Alcoholism may be genetic, scientists have claimed after decades of breeding alcohol-dependent rats who drank profusely.

17:20 09 August 2016

Scientists from Purdue University have found that alcoholism could be genetic following decades of breeding alcohol-dependent rats who drank profusely. The study found that their bodies were biologically programmed to crave alcohol.

 

Lead author Dr William Muir said: 'This research highlights that alcoholism in rats has a strong genetic component and is influenced by many hundreds of genes, each with small effects,'

 

He further explained: 'There is no single gene responsible for alcoholism. However, critical regulatory pathways involving several of the genes discovered were found, suggesting that potential pharmacological solutions may be possible.'

 

'It’s not one gene, one problem. This trait is controlled by vast numbers of genes and networks. This probably dashes water on the idea of treating alcoholism with a single pill.'

 

The results of the study were verified in another pair of lines selected from the same initial population. Some of the identified genes linked to alcoholism include those that are involved in the formation of memories and reward behaviour. Many of the genetic differences were located in non-coding sequences, such as in promoters and introns, suggesting the differences in alcohol preferences due to changes in regulatory regions of the genome.