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Objective: Alcoholism is associated with genetic variants of genes related to alcohol metabolizing enzymes, dopaminergic, gamma-aminobutyric acidergic, glutamatergic, opioid, cholinergic, and serotonergic systems. Neurpeptide Y system and Neurexins were shown to be associated with alcohol dependence. Recent studies identified new genetic polymorphisms related to endogenous cannabinoid system, neuropetide Y and neurexin. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the association of Neurpeptide Y LEU7PRO rs16139 and neurexin 3 gene rs760288 polymorphisms with alcohol dependence in patients with alcohol dependence and healthy control subjects.
Methods: 123 patients who were diagnosed with alcohol dependence according to the DSM-IV criteria and 159 healthy volunteers were included in the study. Blood samples were used to investigate polymorphisms. The genotyping of the neurexin 3 gene rs760288 and the neuropetide Y gene Leu7Pro rs16139 polymorphisms was performed using TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays Real-Time PCR System.
Results: Of the 2 genetic polymorphisms investigated in the present study, we detected association between and neurexin 3 gene rs760288 polymorphisms with alcohol dependence.
Conclusions: Neurexin gene polymorphisms might be an important factor in development of alcohol addiction.