Research conducted by University and University of Michigan professors may help future efforts to treat addictions of all types, said Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences Prof. Ming Li.
The research, which focused on the genetic components of addictions, showed that some genes affect multiple addictions, said Li, who co-authored a paper about the research with Margit Burmeister, research professor for the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute at the University of Michigan. Nature Genetics Reviews will publish the paper in April, Li said.
The paper is an overview of all relevant recent data and literature, but also gives a list of genes and genomic regions that are common for multiple addictions, Li said.
Members of the scientific field agree that genetic, environmental and other factors cause addictions, but “it has been very hard to nail down the genetic vulnerability or protective factors,” Burmeister said.
Researchers found chromosomal regions that affect multiple addictions, including nicotine, cocaine, opiate, heroine and alcohol, Burmeister said, though they have not yet located the specific genes. Knowing what general regions the genes are in, though, should make finding the specific genes easier “because we can go to this area instead of searching the whole genome,” Li said.
In addition to discussing research about chromosomal regions, the paper also focuses on candidate gene association analysis and the broader approach of genome-wide analysis, Li said, explaining that these areas of research deal with comparing specific genes with what addictions those genes may be associated with. The paper examines the five genes that are most likely associated with multiple addictions and includes a long list of all candidate genes likely associated with addictions, he said.
The findings discussed in the paper will not immediately affect the treatment of addiction, but “it makes a difference in how we go about research,” Burmeister said. Researchers will now be able to perform meta-analyses, which are combined analyses of multiple addictions, she said.
Further research could help direct the future of medicine development for addiction, Li said, explaining that scientists have three general goals: to search for genes from the linkage regions, work to replicate important genes in independent samples and try to determine the function of genes. Researchers will then be able to use those genes for potential drug development, Li said.
“[The paper] may not change the way addictions is treated right away,” he said, “but it sets up [a] new target for ... new medicine development for the future treatment of addiction.”
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