Current and Future Prospects for Epigenetic Biomarkers of Substance Use Disorders

Genes

Allan M. Andersen³  Meeshanthini V. Dogan³  Steven R.H. Beach¹  Robert A. Philibert³  Jeffrey Craig² 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; E-Mail:Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA;;Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; E-Mails:

关键词: biomarkers;    epigenetics;    substance use disorders;    addiction;    smoking;    tobacco;    alcohol;    cannabis;    opioids;    psychostimulants;   

DOI  :  10.3390/genes6040991

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Substance abuse has an enormous impact on economic and quality of life measures throughout the world. In more developed countries, overutilization of the most common forms of substances of abuse, alcohol and tobacco, is addressed primarily through prevention of substance use initiation and secondarily through the treatment of those with substance abuse or dependence. In general, these therapeutic approaches to substance abuse are deemed effective. However, there is a broad consensus that the development of additional tools to aid diagnosis, prioritize treatment selection and monitor treatment response could have substantial impact on the effectiveness of both substance use prevention and treatment. The recent demonstrations by a number of groups that substance use exposure is associated with robust changes in DNA methylation signatures of peripheral blood cells suggests the possibility that methylation assessments of blood or saliva could find broad clinical applications. In this article, we review recent progress in epigenetic approaches to substance use assessment with a particular emphasis on smoking (and alcohol) related applications. In addition, we highlight areas, such as the epigenetics of psychostimulant, opioid and cannabis abuse, which are markedly understudied and could benefit from intensified collaborative efforts to define epigenetic biomarkers of abuse and dependence.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.