Alcoholism, as it has been hypothesized, is caused by a highly heterogeneous genetic load. Since 1960, many reports have used the bio-psycho-social approach to subtype alcoholism; however, no subtypes have been genetically validated. We reviewed and compared the major single-gene, multiple-gene, and gene-to-gene interaction studies on alcoholism published during the past quarter-century, including many recent studies that have made contributions to the subtyping of alcoholism. Four subtypes of alcoholism have been reported: [1] pure alcoholism, [2] anxiety/depression alcoholism, [3] antisocial alcoholism, and [4] mixed alcoholism. Most of the important studies focused on three genes: DRD2, MAOA, and ALDH2. Therefore, our review focuses on these three genes.
Keywords: 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-acetaldehyde; 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid; ALC; ALDH2; ANX/DEP ALC; ASPD; Alcoholism; Antisocial ALC; Antisocial non-ALC; DOPAC; DOPAL; DRD2; Genes; HA; MAOA; MTHFR; Mixed ALC; NS; Pure ALC; alcoholism; aldehyde dehydrogenase 2; antisocial alcoholism; antisocial non-alcoholism; antisocial personality disorder; anxiety/depression alcoholism; dopamine D2 receptor; harm avoidance; methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase; mixed alcoholism; monoamine oxidase A; novelty seeking; pure alcoholism.
© 2013.