Alcoholism Has To Do With Genetics

In the article, “Link between genetic variation, alcohol dependence found” in Science Daily, they found information that may explain how alcoholism is partly because of genetics. Many people have problems with alcohol use and many of the people go untreated. It is estimated that 18 million people in the United States have such a problem. The treatments that they have for alcoholism are scarce and not that helpful because of the genetics behind it. If they understood the genetics of alcoholism they could make a more effective treatment and even tell if people are more susceptible to alcohol abuse. The researches examined switching defective/sucrose nonfermenting (SWI/SNF) in roundworms. They chose roundworms because their genetic make up is similar to ours. They found that the alcoholism is because of mutations in many genes. Each mutation is a small mutation, but when they add up they can be the reason for alcohol dependence. The same effects in worms are seen in humans, so they just need to do further research.

Alcoholism is a very serious disease. Many people are affected by it and many people do not want to admit that they have a problem. Like many other things, some people have a higher disposition to certain things. And I definitely think that some people are more susceptible to alcohol dependence than others through genetics. There are many families that have alcoholism that runs in the family. If they could find out where the mutations are occurring then many people can receive help that is accurate and effective. If they continue to do research, I think that we can find a new effective treatment soon.