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Sunday, June 8, 2008

Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Alcohol Use Disorders: A Potential New Endophenotype?
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research OnlineEarly Articles 06 June 2008

Current effort is directed at defining new classification schemes for alcohol use disorders (AUD) based on genetic/biological, physiological, and behavioral endophenotypes.

We describe briefly findings of in vivo brain proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) studies in AUD and propose that they be further explored and expanded regarding their value as a potential endophenotype for AUD.

In vivo 1H MRS, as part of the emerging field of "imaging genomics," may provide readily accessible, objective, functionally significant and region-specific neurobiological measures that successfully link genotypes to neurocognition and to psychiatric symptomatology in relatively small patient cohorts. We discuss several functional gene variants that may affect specific 1H MRS-detectable metabolites and provide recent data from our own work that supports the view of genetic effects on metabolite measures.

MRS-genetics research will not only offer clues to the functional significance and downstream effects of genetic differences in AUD, but, via monitoring and/or predicting the efficacy of pharmacological and behavioral interventions as a function of genotype, has the potential to influence future clinical management of AUD.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: Dieter.Meyerhoff@ucsf.edu

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