Does the short variant of the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region constitute a marker of alcohol dependence?

The serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine: 5-KT) system has been thought to play a n important role in several steps of alcohol craving. A number of studies, including our own, have reported that alcohol dependence is associated with dysfunction of 5-HT transmission. Pharmacological and clinical studies hav e shown that the 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) and the 5-HT1A receptor appear to be candidate loci for the aetiology of alcohol dependence. We have analyse d the presence of different 5-HTT and 5-HT1A variants in 104 alcohol-depend ent patients and 38 controls for a possible association with alcohol depend ence: In alcohol-dependent patients, we found a high frequency of the S all ele of 5-HTTLPR (45.5% vs. 29%, chi(2) = 6.33, p = 0.0081). No other signif icant differences were observed between the two populations for other polym orphisms. These results provide, for the first time, preliminary evidence t hat alcohol abuse disorders are associated with a genetic variant for 5-HT transmission. It might be possible to use this detection of the "S" allele as a clinical tool for pathology diagnosis and to advise recovering alcohol ics and it could represent an aid to the prevention of relapse. Therapeutic actions could be envisaged to use this genotyping to help select the best therapeutic strategy. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.