Searching for biochemical markers in children of ...( Genetic factors contribute up ...)

• Genetic factors contribute up to 40 percent to the risk of developing alcoholism.
• Environmental factors likely contribute the remaining risk.
• Those considered most at risk are children of alcoholics (COAs).
• Not all COAs become alcoholics.
• Biochemical markers or "biomarkers" may help identify specific individuals at highest risk.

Research shows that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of alcoholism. Individuals with a family history of alcoholism are themselves at greater risk of developing alcoholism, yet some children of alcoholics (COAs) develop the disease while others don't, even within the same environment. A study published in the March issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has found that a hormone called beta-endorphin (B-E) may help identify which individuals have the particular genetic combination that places them most at risk of becoming alcoholics.

"Alcoholism, rather than a weakness of will," said Janice C. Froehlich, professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine and lead author of the study, "is a disease that has biological components to it. We know that alcoholism tends to run in families and that individuals with a family history of alcoholism are more likely to develop alcoholism themselves. However, not all children of alcoholics become alcoholic, in part, because not all family members will inherit a combination of genes that increases risk for alcoholism." The challenge, she added, is to be able to identify specific individuals in families with alcoholism who are at the greatest risk for developing alcoholism. One approach is to study the response of B-E to alcohol consumption.

B-E is a hormone that is manufactured within the endogenous opioid system of the brain. It produces euphoria and acts like the body's own morphine, said Froehlich. Endorphin levels increase, for example, during childbirth,
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Contact: Janice C. Froehlich, Ph.D.
jcfroehl@iupui.edu
317-274-1347
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
13-Mar-2000

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