Gene may make women at higher alcohol risk
BONN, Germany (UPI) -- Women with a particular genetic make-up could be at greater risk of becoming dependent on alcohol, German and Swedish researchers suggest. Researchers at the University of Bonn and Sweden's Karolinska Institute said a gene in the endorphin metabolism is altered more often in women alcoholics than in healthy women. Endorphins activate the reward system in the brain. The theory is that without these "happiness" hormones people would go easy on alcohol. The researchers tested the theory and gave mice that couldn't produce endorphins due to a genetic mutation water or ethanol solution. Overall, mice without endorphins drank less alcohol than their relatives with endorphins -- particularly in female mice, Dr. Ildiko Racz from the Bonn Institute of Molecular Psychiatry said. Racz said that in humans, the scientists scrutinized genes of 500 female and male alcoholics for peculiarities. "We were able to show that two genetic changes in the genes of female alcoholics occurred significantly more frequently than in healthy women," Racz said in a statement. "We don't know what the exact effect of these changes is." The researchers said they can only evaluate how large the influence of the genetic mutations with further research. The findings are published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
BONN, Germany (UPI) -- Women with a particular genetic make-up could be at greater risk of becoming dependent on alcohol, German and Swedish researchers suggest. Researchers at the University of Bonn and Sweden's Karolinska Institute said a gene in the endorphin metabolism is altered more often in women alcoholics than in healthy women. Endorphins activate the reward system in the brain. The theory is that without these "happiness" hormones people would go easy on alcohol. The researchers tested the theory and gave mice that couldn't produce endorphins due to a genetic mutation water or ethanol solution. Overall, mice without endorphins drank less alcohol than their relatives with endorphins -- particularly in female mice, Dr. Ildiko Racz from the Bonn Institute of Molecular Psychiatry said. Racz said that in humans, the scientists scrutinized genes of 500 female and male alcoholics for peculiarities. "We were able to show that two genetic changes in the genes of female alcoholics occurred significantly more frequently than in healthy women," Racz said in a statement. "We don't know what the exact effect of these changes is." The researchers said they can only evaluate how large the influence of the genetic mutations with further research. The findings are published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Copyright 2008 by United Press International
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