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Advances in Medications and Tailoring Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic heritable brain disorder with a variable clinical presentation. This variability, or heterogeneity, in clinical presentation suggests complex interactions between environmental and biological factors, resulting in several underlying pathophysiological mechanis...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Seneviratne, Chamindi, Johnson, Bankole A.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4476601/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26259086
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author Seneviratne, Chamindi
Johnson, Bankole A.
author_facet Seneviratne, Chamindi
Johnson, Bankole A.
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description Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic heritable brain disorder with a variable clinical presentation. This variability, or heterogeneity, in clinical presentation suggests complex interactions between environmental and biological factors, resulting in several underlying pathophysiological mechanisms in the development and progression of AUD. Classifying AUD into subgroups of common clinical or pathological characteristics would ease the complexity of teasing apart underlying molecular mechanisms. Genetic association analyses have revealed several polymorphisms—small differences in DNA—that increase a person’s vulnerability to develop AUD and other alcohol-related intermediate characteristics, such as severity of drinking, age of AUD onset, or measures of craving. They also have identified polymorphisms associated with reduced drinking. Researchers have begun utilizing these genetic polymorphisms to identify alcoholics who might respond best to various treatments, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of currently tested medications for treating AUD. This review compares the efficacy of medications tested for treatment of AUD with and without incorporating genetics. It then discusses advances in pre-clinical genetic and genomic studies that potentially could be adapted to clinical trials to improve treatment efficacy. Although a pharmacogenetic approach is promising, it is relatively new and will need to overcome many challenges, including inadequate scientific knowledge and social and logistic constraints, to be utilized in clinical practice.
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spelling pubmed-44766012015-06-24 Advances in Medications and Tailoring Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder Seneviratne, Chamindi Johnson, Bankole A. Alcohol Res Feature Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic heritable brain disorder with a variable clinical presentation. This variability, or heterogeneity, in clinical presentation suggests complex interactions between environmental and biological factors, resulting in several underlying pathophysiological mechanisms in the development and progression of AUD. Classifying AUD into subgroups of common clinical or pathological characteristics would ease the complexity of teasing apart underlying molecular mechanisms. Genetic association analyses have revealed several polymorphisms—small differences in DNA—that increase a person’s vulnerability to develop AUD and other alcohol-related intermediate characteristics, such as severity of drinking, age of AUD onset, or measures of craving. They also have identified polymorphisms associated with reduced drinking. Researchers have begun utilizing these genetic polymorphisms to identify alcoholics who might respond best to various treatments, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of currently tested medications for treating AUD. This review compares the efficacy of medications tested for treatment of AUD with and without incorporating genetics. It then discusses advances in pre-clinical genetic and genomic studies that potentially could be adapted to clinical trials to improve treatment efficacy. Although a pharmacogenetic approach is promising, it is relatively new and will need to overcome many challenges, including inadequate scientific knowledge and social and logistic constraints, to be utilized in clinical practice. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 2015 /pmc/articles/PMC4476601/ /pubmed/26259086 Text en http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ Unless otherwise noted in the text, all material appearing in this journal is in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission. Citation of the source is appreciated.
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Seneviratne, Chamindi
Johnson, Bankole A.
Advances in Medications and Tailoring Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder
title Advances in Medications and Tailoring Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder
title_full Advances in Medications and Tailoring Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder
title_fullStr Advances in Medications and Tailoring Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder
title_full_unstemmed Advances in Medications and Tailoring Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder
title_short Advances in Medications and Tailoring Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder
title_sort advances in medications and tailoring treatment for alcohol use disorder
topic Feature
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4476601/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26259086
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