Aspectos genéticos del alcoholismo Genetic aspects of alcoholism

Objective: Alcoholism is a heteroge- neous group of disorders that share their relations- hip with alcohol intake. The importance of genetics factors in the development alcoholism has been studied for a long time. Family, twin and adoption studies have shown that children of alcoholics have a higher risk for alcoholism. At present, the advan- ce of molecular methods has provided a new ap- proach to the study of the relationship between ge- netics and alcoholism. Material and methods: The genetics of alcoholism it is reviewed. Results: The effects of alcohol are related to enzymatic activity of ethanol metabolism. Subjects with polymorphisms for some of their genes, that imply an alteration in the elimination of ethanol, would contribute to a genetic variability in their consumption and effects on the body. On the other hand, we know that the addictive capacity of alcohol and other drugs is based on the capacity to strengthen the dopaminergic transmis- sion in the mesolimbic system, fundamental center of the award system, that is modulated by different neurotransmitter systems such as opioid and sero- tonergic. The existence of genetic variants for the key proteins of these systems could also be related with consumption.