The A-Files, Alcohol A-Z for Alcohol Awareness Month: Genetics

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Twenty-six episodes of 'The A-Files' will run throughout Alcohol Awareness Month on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Alcohologist.com andAddictedMinds.com, among other web and social media sites. Episode G looks at the genetics underlying alcohol use disorders.

Genes influence the likelihood of becoming alcoholic. The genome project identified flaws in chromosomes 4q and 11, among others, as creating a higher probability a person will be alcoholic. These flaws can be passed on through heredity – mom or dad – or the genes can be damaged from repeated alcohol use. So you can be born with a predisposition for alcoholism, or you can drink your way into the disease. That's how the disease can be both, gene-based and behavior-based.

The disease of alcoholism is far more complicated than genetics. A person even can be born with the faulty genetic package and never know it, IF he or she never drinks. Easier said than done in this culture. Our genetic factors interact with our environment. Some people are more sensitive to stress, making it harder to cope with an unhealthy relationship or a fast-paced job. Some people experience a traumatizing event and turn to alcohol to self-medicate. Those with a high genetic risk to use of any drug must first be driven by a nonhereditary factor to do it. That tipping point leading to alcohol use is usually an environmental factor, such as work-related stress.

Those with a history of alcoholism in their family have the highest risk of becoming alcoholics. If you have more than one relative with an alcohol addiction or other substance use disorder, you may have inherited the genes that put you at risk. It's worth repeating that a 2016 study mentioned in The A-Files episode on FASD, shows that fetal exposure to alcohol through mom's drinking in any trimester can increase the chance of alcoholic drinking later in life. The more family members you have with an alcohol problem, the higher the risk. But, just because someone may have a strong susceptibility toward alcoholism does not mean he or she is doomed. No one can control their genetic makeup, but everyone can take measures to prevent an addiction.

If you question the role genetics plays, think about lab rodents. A mouse or rat does not favor alcohol. They are repelled by it, in fact. So how do scientists get lab rats for their experiments? They breed them that way by tweaking the genes.
The entire 26 episode HD series is available on disc, along with fact sheets, for helping professions. See the preorder special at tr.im/AFiles

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Another interview is on Alcohol Awareness.  Syndicated radio program Savvy Central Radio did this interview, too. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud and the first for Adding Fire to the Fuel also can be found on www.alcohologist.com. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today. Stevens also is the public relations officer with AddictedMinds.com 

Environment and culture combine with genetics to influence alcoholism

There is a genetic predisposition to alcoholism (watch the YouTube video). Doctors have known for years there are genetic components to this disease. Six years ago while researching my first book, the evidence was clear on genetics, even if heredity wasn't as clear a picture. The human genome project shed light specifically on which genes and chromosomes are flawed in alcoholics. Chromosomes 4Q and 11, for example, have been indicated.

But just because a person has a genetic predisposition doesn't mean they're drinkers dying for a drink or alcoholics dying from one. There are millions of Americans with flawed chromosomes who don't even know it because they don't drink alcohol. You cannot have the disease of alcoholism without having exposure to alcohol. Regardless of DNA. Just like you can have a genetic predisposition to certain cancers, and live a cancer-free life. They're also millions of alcoholics who find out the hard way their genetic makeup is flawed, experience the disease, and now choose total abstinence to manage the incurable condition.

Beyond genetics, there are other factors that come into play when a person chooses alcohol, and when alcohol turns on them. Two of the most important ones are environment and culture.

Environment means the surroundings in which they were raised. In my case, every family gathering we had – birthdays, holidays, Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, etc. – included alcohol. Also, my father would come home from work and pop open an ice-cold can of PBR. That's how a man finished his day of work. Other children grow up an environment where they see mom having a glass of wine to calm down or relieve stress and they learn in that environment that's what you do to relieve stress.

What is meant by culture is that we are bombarded with advertisements and social situations that glorify the feel-good part of this drug. It is the cultural norm in the U.S. and many countries to drink socially, and abstinence is considered abnormal and is stigmatized. The point is, genetics don't put the bottle in your hand. Your parents don't put the bottle in your hand. Your friends and coworkers don't put the bottle in your hand. Whether you have the disease of alcoholism, or just don't want to find out if you do, don't take the first drink. And if you are drinking why take the next one?

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on risky myths of about "healthy" drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus the NEW book, Adding Fire to the Fuel, is now available. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

The Eyes Have It: Vermont study connects eye color and alcoholism

People with blue eyes might have a greater chance of becoming alcoholics, according to a new study by genetic researchers at the University of Vermont. The work is the first to make a direct connection between a person’s eye color and alcohol dependence and appears in the July 1 2015 issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics.

The study of 1,263 genetic profiles contributes another piece of evidence that alcohol dependency has a genetic foundation. The study profiles were pulled from a database that only contains genetic profiles of people diagnosed with at least one psychiatric illness, which includes an addiction to, or dependence on, drugs or alcohol. Li and associates filtered the database for patients with alcohol addiction or dependence and European ancestry. European Americans with light eye colors, including blue, green and gray, had higher incidences of alcohol dependency than those with dark brown eyes, and that blue eyes were most strongly associated with the condition. The data showed that people with blue eyes were also more likely to have genes associated with alcohol dependence.

Previous research indicated that eye color can be associated with all sorts of specific health conditions. Recovery book, What the Early Worm Gets, also indicated human genome study results implicate flaws in chomosomes 4q and 11 in a higher risk for the disease of alcoholism and contributed to the variability of alcoholism from person to person. Georgia State University concluded fifteen years ago that people with lighter eyes consumed more alcohol. The Vermont researchers now connect eye color to higher probability of the disease.

Geneticists have also known for a while that many people of Asian descent have a different version of the aldehyde dehydrogenase, the enzyme which metabolizes alcohol. Asians commonly have dark eye coloring and have a very low incidence of alcohol dependence and the disease of alcoholism. That isn't to say there aren't alcoholics of Asian descent or that those with dark eyes won't/can't be alcoholic, only that statistically (and genetically) the prevalence is lower than light-eyed men and women of European ancestry. “These are complex disorders,” lead researcher Dawei Li says. “There are many genes, and there are many environmental triggers.”

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Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on risky myths of about "healthy" drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus the NEW book, Adding Fire to the Fuel, is now available. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

Alcoholism program on Rebecca L. Mahan Show re-airs 7/10

Scott Stevens, author of Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, was Rebecca's guest Sat. July 5.  By listener request, the program on alcoholism, genetics, treatment vs. mistreatment, and more, re-airs Thurs. July 10 at 1pm CDT on the Fishbowl Radio Network.  If you missed it... the replay is on Soundcloud and www.alcohologist.com

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Bringing Inspiration To Earth show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Scott Stevens on Health Media Now and one at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  

Study finds counterintuitive father/son alcoholism link

A son's susceptibility for an alcohol use disorder may actually drop if dad drinks abusively before conception according to University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine rodent research. The June 4 study results suggest male offspring might drink less.

The research finds mice chronically exposed to alcohol before breeding had male offspring that were less likely to consume alcohol and were more sensitive to its effects. This could be a fresh take on the prior human studies indicating that alcoholism can run in families, particularly father to son. Research student, Andrey Finegersh, noted, "We suspected that the offspring of alcohol exposed sires would have an enhanced taste for alcohol, which seems to be the pattern for humans. Whether the unexpected reduction in alcohol drinking that was observed is due to differences between species or the specific drinking model that was tested is unclear."

Lead researcher, Gregg E. Homanics, notes, "Rather than mutation of the genetic sequence, environmental factors might lead to changes that modify the activity of a gene, which is called epigenetics. Our mouse study shows that it is possible for alcohol to modify the dad's otherwise normal genes and influence consumption in his sons, but surprisingly not his daughters."

The researchers plan to examine other drinking models such as binge drinking, identify how alcohol modifies the genes, and explore why female offspring appear unaffected.

In the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded study, male mice were exposed to ethanol vapor over five weeks, leading to blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) slightly higher than the .08 legal limit for U.S. drivers. The exposed mice were mated to females who had not been exposed to alcohol. Compared to those of ethanol-free fathers, adult male offspring of ethanol-exposed mice consumed less alcohol when it was made available and were less likely to choose to drink it over water. Also, they were more susceptible to drinking's affect on motor control and an alcohol-induced reduction of anxiety.

The UPMC study, while contradictory to human gene studies, does confirm that alcohol consumed and its acetaldehyde byproduct leave a biological imprint on your DNA. (See Dec. 2013 article) According to alcoholism book, Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, the DNA change impacts the body's risk of more than 60 other diseases, beyond the disease of alcoholism. “Other diseases, like cancer, can surface later as a result of epigenetic changes. If the drinking doesn’t kill you immediately, it can kill you years down the road. Drinking often or in excess or both is like you’ve stepped out onto the highway: The truck just hasn’t hit you yet.”(from examiner.com, see full article)
www.alcohologist.com

Scroll down for the replay of the April 13 Sound Health Options show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Scott Stevens on Health Media Now and one at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."