Research to Seek `Vulnerability' Genes For Alcoholism

Anew research program affiliated with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has set a daunting goal for itself: to identify the genes that increase vulnerability to alcoholism and ultimately to use that information to protect people from becoming addicted to alcohol.

“We have known for years that alcoholism runs in families and that children of alcoholic parents are at very high risk of developing the problem,” said David Mrazek, M.D., chair of the Mayo Clinic department of psychiatry and psychology in a press release.

“Some genes have already been linked to alcoholism,” he stated,“ but every relevant gene must be identified so we can learn how they interact.”

Once these genes are identified, researchers hope to utilize“ personalized therapies for people at risk of developing alcoholism and other addictions,” Mrazek said.

The research program is expected to extend over the next five years and to cost nearly $20 million, and the Samuel C. Johnson family and SC Johnson Fund have committed $12.5 million over five years to the program. Because of that support, the program is being named the Samuel C. Johnson Program in the Genomics of Addiction. The Mayo Clinic will be responsible for raising additional funds.

More information about the Mayo Clinic's genomic research is posted online at<www.mayo.edu/research>.▪