Team Ties Genes to Risk of Alcoholism, Depression

Researchers said in the American Journal of Psychiatry that they had identified an area on human chromosome 1 that is linked with vulnerability to alcoholism as well as to emotional disorders, primarily depression. Depending on circumstances, the gene or genes may manifest themselves in either form, they said.

``With this new data, we can now take a better look at patterns of diagnoses such as alcoholism and depression that run in families,'' said Dr. John Nurnberger, director of the Institute of Psychiatric Research at the Indiana University Medical Center, who led the study. ``In the future, we may be able to predict whether an individual is likely to have these disorders.''

The study also showed that in many cases, the incidence of depression in individuals was secondary to alcoholism.

The Original Story from: yahoo