abcgo.com | Submitted by kmwtutorkc, 02.07.10
Recent studies by researchers in China indicate that people with alcohol flush disease, also known as "Asian blush," metabolize alcohol extremely quickly and are at lower rates for alcoholism. They believe that the mutation became more prevalent around 7000 years ago, near the time that Asians began fermenting wine from rice. Although it is considered today to be a so-called 'disease,' their research indicates that it actually confers a benefit in protecting against alcoholism.
bbc.co.uk | Submitted by ezmonster, 01.31.10
Scientists have found that a specific polymporphism in the gene that encodes the peptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), a molecule known to be involved in responses to stress, also influences how much ethanol macaque monkeys drink. Overactivation of this gene pathway has been associated with anxiety, depression, and alcoholism. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the authors found that the "T" form of the CRF gene was associated with increased voluntary consumption of alcohol, using drinks of similar alcohol concentration to strong beer. Some monkeys drank up to 4-5 drinks of unsweetened alcohol within a single hour. Monkeys showed individual differences in the behavioral response to ethanol, reported one of the study authors from the National Institute of Health, and this gene variation is thought to have an ortholog in humans. The results may lead to new risk screening tools or treatments for alcoholism.