Hangover Gene May Help Explain Alcoholism
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James Joyner | Wednesday, August 10, 2005 |
Scientists have discovered tolerance for alcohol may be attributable to the “hangover gene.”
‘Hangover’ Gene Holds Clues to Alcoholism (HealthDay News)
Hard-drinking fruit flies have helped U.S. and German scientists uncover a gene that may shed light on humans’ tolerance to alcohol. The gene — named hangover by its discoverers — is part of a genetic pathway that enables the flies to deal with increasing amounts of alcohol, according to researchers. They also believe this mechanism can lead to alcohol dependence and addiction.
The finding may be important because “identifying the genes you inherit that relate to your tolerance to alcohol helps us understand how genes set you up for a vulnerability to alcoholism,” said Dr. James Garbutt, a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina.
Garbutt was not involved in the study, which was led by Ulrike Heberlein, an associate professor of anatomy at the University of California at San Francisco. Her team’s report appears in the Aug. 11 issue of Nature. In their experiments, Heberlein’s group found that flies without the hangover gene didn’t develop a tolerance to alcohol when exposed to increased amounts of ethanol (alcohol) vapor.
In addition, the team found that the flies missing this gene also have poor responses to other stresses, such as higher temperatures. This suggests that the hangover gene might also play a role in dealing with stressful conditions, the researchers report.
One would think this gene would have shown up in studies of fraternity pledges before it was noted in fruit flies.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Wonderful. I always thought my lack of hangovers was something to be proud of.
I always wondered how after a night of drinking how anyone could continue??? Just the thought of starting up again makes me sick!...AND...the smell...Yikes!
Who is this "Gene" guy, anyway? And I'd really like to know the backstory on that "Hangover" nickname....
One would think this gene would have shown up in studies of fraternity pledges before it was noted in fruit flies. Yes, one would think that.
>One would think this gene would have shown up
>in studies of fraternity pledges before it was
>noted in fruit flies.
That would require a population of non-drinking frat pledges to serve as a control though...
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