Gene has 'big effect' on alcoholism, how quickly you get drunk
on 21/10/10 at 9:24 pm
Booze News
You probably know people who get tipsy after a drink or two. Maybe you’re one yourself.Over the past several decades, studies of college students have shown that such individuals are one-third to one-half as likely to develop alcoholism as those who drink and drink and drink before they feel drunk.
Now scientists have identified a gene that has a “big, big effect” on how people respond to alcohol, says Kirk Wilhelmsen, senior author of a paper posted Tuesday by the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. About 10% to 20% of the population carry a version of the gene that makes their brains especially sensitive to alcohol.
