title: Association of a genetic polymorphism of the alcohol-metabolizing enzyme ADH1C with alcohol dependence: results of a case-control study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Alcohol dependence causes serious problems which may be influenced by genetic factors associated with alcohol metabolism. The aim was to investigate the allelic and genotypic difference in distribution of a polymorphism in alcohol dehydrogenase 1C gene (ADH1C) between alcohol-dependent individuals and controls, and to examine if these genotypes were associated with the age at which the patient became alcohol-dependent.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a case-control study including 90 alcohol-dependent cases and 100 historic controls. The genomic DNA was isolated and the alleles were analyzed with an RFLP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ADH1C*1 allele frequencies were 0.89 (95% CI 0.84-0.91) in controls and 0.68 (95% CI 0.61-0.74) in alcohol-dependent patients. The frequencies of the ADH1C*2 allele were 0.11 (95% CI 0.07-0.14) and 0.32 (95% CI 0.25-0.38) among controls and alcohol-dependent patients, respectively (p < 0.0001). The ADH1C*1/*1 genotype frequency was significantly higher in the control group (77%) compared to that of the alcohol-dependents (51%, p < 0.0001). The ADH1C*1/*2 genotype frequency was significantly lower in the control group (23%) compared to that of the alcohol-dependents (42%, p < 0.0001). We obtained no statistically significant difference among the ADH1C genotype groups regarding age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that a significantly higher presence of ADH1C*2 allele is associated with alcohol dependence in a Turkish population. Studies with other related polymorphisms are needed to more precisely estimate the association of alcohol dependence with ADH1C.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey. skortunay@pau.edu.tr
authors.forename: Selim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kortunay
authors.forename: Aylin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Köseler
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
authors.forename: Erol Ömer
authors.initials: EÖ
authors.lastname: Atalay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C420272:ADH1C protein, human; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase