Mental health professional have long wondered about the relationship between cocaine addiction and genes. An article published in Medical News Today, March 3, 2009, examines this issue. The article reports on a study published in the March 2009 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.The researchers studied, "...a total of 3,992 individuals from two family-based samples (European American and African American) and two case-control samples (European American and African American) enrolled in studies of drug addiction and classified them as either cocaine dependent, suffering from cocaine-induced paranoia or controls. They were then genotyped for 11 markers spanning the MANEA gene. MANEA encodes an enzyme (a-endomannosidase) that metabolizes complex carbohydrates. MANEA was chosen for further study based on evidence from a low-resolution scan of the entire genome the researchers performed previously to search for genes associated with substance dependence." And what did the results of the study show? "The researchers found cocaine induced paranoia was associated with six of the 11 markers in the European American family sample. They also found these six markers and three other markers were significant in the African American sample. The strongest evidence for association in either population and in the total sample was observed for marker rs9387522, which is located in the 3' untranslated region of the gene. The A allele for this marker was associated with increased risk of cocaine induced paranoia in all four data sets..The findings suggest that cocaine dependence and associated behaviors may involve biological pathways not typically thought to be associated with brain metabolism and now opens a new pathway to understanding these highly prevalent disorders and their psychopathological manifestations." What are the implications of this study. First, certain genes that control specific biological pathways in the brain appear to be strongly associated with cocaine dependence and cocaine induced paranoia. Second, the results of this study point the way for future research to develop biomarkers to identify individuals who may be genetically susceptible to cocaine dependence and cocaine induced paranoia. The development of specific biomarkers would be a great leap forward for the prevention and treatment of cocaine dependence and cocaine induced paranoia. And third, any advances in the prevention and treatment of cocaine dependence and cocaine induced paranoia would be greatly welcome by mental health professionals given that "...Cocaine is widely abused in the United States. The 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health revealed that nearly six million Americans age 12 or older used the drug during the preceding year. Compulsive use of cocaine is also common with more than one million individuals considered dependent on the drug."
The Bottom Line: The results of this study strongly suggest that defective genes may cause cocaine dependence and cocaine induced paranoia.
Source: Original Article
Dr. Jeffrey Speller
Dr. Tanya Korkosz
Psychopharmacology Associates of New England
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