Drunkards are alike genetically whether in USA or Russia

The same gene that accounts for part of a genetic risk for developing alcoholism in a U.S. population is found in a Russian population, according to a published study by a Yale School of Medicine researcher.

Two large genetic studies in the U.S. last year identified an association between genetic variations in the GABRA2 receptor subtype and risk for alcohol dependence, said Jaako Lappalainen, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry in the Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism at Yale, and first author of the study.

No, it doesn’t provide a convenient excuse for being a drunkard. Having this variation does slightly increases the risk. However there are lots of people with this variation who are not drunkard.

Lappalainen stressed that other genes have been implicated in alcoholism and that the risk of alcohol dependence is also dependent on environment and behavior.

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