Genetic Find Links Alcoholism, Depression

INDIANAPOLIS -- Genetic research has confirmed what many have suspected for years: there is a direct link between alcoholism and depression.

Researchers have identified an area on chromosome 1 that is linked with an individual's vulnerability to alcoholism, as well as affective disorders, primarily depression. The revelation, however, does not mean that all individuals with the anomaly will develop depression or alcoholism. It is believed that multiple genetic factors, as well as environmental factors, are involved, according to the groundbreaking study published in the May 2001 issue of American Journal of Psychiatry.

The research, conducted in part at the Indiana University School of Medicine, is the first to confirm a link between alcoholism and depression.

"We are not thinking of genes that cause a disorder," said John I. Nurnberger Jr., M.D., Ph.D., the lead author of the study and director of the Institute of Psychiatric Research at the IU School of Medicine. "What we are looking for are vulnerability factors or predisposition, not causative factors."

The study, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, was conducted at six medical centers in the United States and involved hundreds of families and thousands of individuals.

Dr. Nurnberger, the Joyce and Iver Small Professor of Psychiatry and professor of medical neurobiology and of medical and molecular genetics at IU, said the discovery will allow researchers to look at patterns of development in families. "In the future, we may be able to predict whether an individual is likely to develop these disorders," he said.

"The genetic link also could allow for development of treatments targeting particular abnormalities involved in alcoholism and affective disorders," he added.

Other IU School of Medicine researchers involved in the study are Tatiana Foroud, Ph.D., associate professor, and Leah Flury, M.S., applied statistician, both in the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics; Eric T. Meyer, M.A., information and technology coordinator, Institute of Psychiatric Research; and Howard Edenberg, Ph.D., professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Media Contact: Joe Stuteville
Tel: (317)274-7722
Email: jstutevi@iupui.edu

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