Impact of a genetic risk factor for substance use differs by sex in adolescents

Impact of a genetic risk factor for substance use differs by sex in adolescents

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Pediatrics Week -- WASHINGTON -- In a study of adolescent boys and girls, neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center and Penn State University have found a sex difference in a gene linked to substance use disorders.

To date, only adults have been studied for substance use disorders with regards to a particular genetic risk factor. Those studies found that a gene alteration that codes for the neurotransmitter dopamine was linked to an increased risk in men, but was inconclusive in women.

In a new study of adolescents, researchers found that the C variant (allele) in the dopamine receptor gene called DRD2, delayed maturation of a critical brain region involved in reward-related planning in boys, but not in girls. In girls, the opposite affect was found …

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(2017-12-02), Impact of a genetic risk factor for substance use differs by sex in adolescents, Pediatrics Week, 202, ISSN: 1944-2645, BUTTER® ID: 014762199