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Genome-Wide Analysis for Addiction Susceptibility Genes

Genome wide analysis for addiction susceptibility genes is an affected sibling pair linkage study using subjects who were patients in methadone replacement treatment programs (MMTP). Such patients are highly addicted to opioids and usually to other addicting substances as well. For entry into the programs, patients had to be at least 18 years of age and had to satisfy DSM-IV criteria for opioid dependence. Despite their common substance use disorder diagnosis, patients enrolled in MMTPs generally have a heterogeneous mix of co-morbid psychiatric disorders including anti-social personality disorder, major depression and anxiety disorders, and often satisfy DSM-IV criteria of substance use disorders other than opioid dependence. Genetic analysis was carried out using genotyping data obtained from a 10K SNP array, and non-parametric linkage was assessed using MERLIN. This resulted in the identification of a linkage peak on 14q that overlapped the NRXN3 gene (neurexin 3), which was previously identified as a potential candidate gene for addiction, and subsequently identified as a target gene in other addiction studies and autism.

In version 2 of this study, a text file containing 7704 SNPs with large allele frequency discrepancy as compared to 1000 Genomes is included. Users have the option to exlude these 7704 SNPs.