Health Highlight: Thu. 23, Mar.
Today’s highlight: Washington University study finds links between genetics and addiction. (This week has been busy for me. I'll work on more highlights)
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“NIH study reveals shared genetic markers underlying substance use disorders” (URL, Glasp)
✍🏼 NIH Staff Writer(s) 🗣️ @NIH • 🗞️ Nature Mental Health 🗣️ @Nature
Summary
Researchers at Washington University led a National Institutes of Health study with more than 150 coauthors that looked at one of the largest sets of genomic data. They found that alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and opioid use disorders are all caused by the same genetic markers. 1 2
What did they find?
The study looked at genomic data from more than 1 million people and found that dopamine signaling regulation is linked to genes that are often passed down in addiction disorders.
“Substance use disorders are heritable and influenced by complex interactions among multiple genes and environmental factors… The strongest gene signals consistent across the various disorders mapped to areas in the genome known to control regulation of dopamine signaling, suggesting that genetic variation in dopamine signaling regulation, rather than in dopamine signaling itself, is central to addiction risk.”
What does this mean?
The results help us learn more about how molecules and genes work together to cause addiction and could lead to the development of personalized treatments that are based on a person's unique biology, environment, and life experiences.
The study also pointed to the importance of diversity and inclusion in data sampling.
“Using genomics, we can create a data-driven pipeline to prioritize existing medications for further study and improve chances of discovering new treatments. To do this accurately, it’s critical that the genetic evidence we gather includes globally representative populations and that we have members of communities historically underrepresented in biomedical research leading and contributing to these kinds of studies,”
— Alexander Hatoum, Ph.D., Washington University, Lead author of the study.
Addiction keyword-related reading
“Narcan May Soon Be Available Over The Counter. Here's How To Use It.” (URL, Glasp)
🏷️ Tags: #Addiction #SubstanceUseDisorders #Research #Genetics
“NIH study reveals shared genetic markers underlying substance use disorders” https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-reveals-shared-genetic-markers-underlying-substance-use-disorders
“Multivariate genome-wide association meta-analysis of over 1 million subjects identifies loci underlying multiple substance use disorders” https://www.nature.com/articles/s44220–023–00034-y#Sec19