A DNMT3B gene variant is commonly found in people of European and African descent. This variant increases the likelihood of developing nicotine dependence, heavy smoking, and the risk of developing lung cancer, says study led by RTI International.
Nearly 1 billion people smoke and 6 million premature deaths occur worldwide each year from cigarette smoking, according to the World Health Organization. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and one person dies approximately every 6 seconds from smoking-related causes, according to the WHO.
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‘DNMT3B gene variant exerts effects on gene regulation in the part of the human brain called cerebellum which has long been overlooked in the study of addiction.’
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The new study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, is the largest genome-wide association study of nicotine dependence. Researchers studied more than 38,600 former and current smokers from the United States, Iceland, Finland, and the Netherlands.
"This new finding widens the scope of how genetic factors are known to influence nicotine dependence," Dana Hancock, Ph.D., genetic epidemiologist at RTI and co-author of the study. "The variant that we identified is common, occurring in 44 percent of Europeans or European Americans and 77 percent of African Americans, and it exerts important effects on gene regulation in human brain, specifically in the cerebellum, which has long been overlooked in the study of addiction."
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The use of Drugs for reasons other than its prescribed recommendation, is known as Drug abuse or substance abuse. Drug abuse or substance abuse is initiated by various biological and social factors.
The genetic variant was linked to an increased risk of nicotine dependence by testing nearly 18 million variants across the genome for association with nicotine dependence. The variant was also tested in independent studies and found to associate with heavier smoking and with increased risk of lung cancer.
Source: Eurekalert
Drug Abuse
The use of Drugs for reasons other than its prescribed recommendation, is known as Drug abuse or substance abuse. Drug abuse or substance abuse is initiated by various biological and social factors.
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The genetic variant was linked to an increased risk of nicotine dependence by testing nearly 18 million variants across the genome for association with nicotine dependence. The variant was also tested in independent studies and found to associate with heavier smoking and with increased risk of lung cancer.
Source: Eurekalert
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Drug detoxification (or drug detox) is a process that helps drug addicts to give up drugs with less or no withdrawal symptoms.
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