( Studying the genetic make-up using bloo...)Genetic Tests to Reveal ‘substance Abuse’ Tendencis,Health

Studying the genetic make-up using blood samples to detect certain diseases, with a view to customizing treatment, has been in practice//. Now, scientists have gone a bit further to design evaluation methods based on such existing tests that might reveal the latent tendencies in people to become victims of substance abuse or suffer antisocial personality disorder.

Such tests would not dictate who would become substance dependent or have behavioral problems, as genes do not function in isolation but are influenced by other genes and environmental factors, said the study's lead author Robert Philibert, M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.

"Our study suggests that analyzing the expression of genes in blood could indicate whether a person is susceptible to having a behavioral disorder. Having a particular gene expression change does not by itself predict that a person will act a certain way. However, it can indicate who might have a greater biological basis for engaging in behaviors such as smoking and alcohol or marijuana use," Philibert said.

"What matters most is not whether you have a particular gene but whether the gene is expressed, and what other environmental factors may be at play. Genetic variation in and of itself is not deterministic," he added.

In a related study also published online March 6, Philibert and colleagues reported a potential blood test for panic disorder. Both the panic disorder study and one on substance abuse used data from the Iowa Adoption Studies, which were established by Remi Cadoret, M.D., an internationally renowned UI professor of psychiatry who passed away in 2005.

In this latest study, the researchers found certain differences in the genes of people with a history of smoking compared to those without such a history. In all, 579 genes were more expressed and 584 genes were less expressed in people who had smoked.


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