Integration of generalized vulnerability to drug and alcohol addiction

Abstract

The vulnerability to develop addiction to alcohol has been well established in familial and genetic studies. Similar familial and genetic studies have supported a vulnerability to drug addiction. The co-occurrence of alcohol and drug addiction in the same individuals is highly prevalent in clinical populations. Common putative neurochemical mechanisms underlie addiction to both alcohol and drugs, namely, in the mesolimbic pathway and the locus ceruleus in the brain. Treatment strategies are directed at both alcohol and multiple drug addictions in patient populations. The formulation of a generalized vulnerability that extends to both alcohol and drug addiction is not only possible but necessary to explain the substantial numbers of individuals who develop both alcohol and drug addictions. Future research that is pertinent and relevant may depend on the understanding of a generalized vulnerability to develop alcohol and drug addiction and its application in diagnostic strategies and treatment models.

Physician Practice of Addictions in Medical Practice

“…The large overlap in the use of drugs and alcohol has had significant ramifications for diagnosis and treatment as they are traditionally practiced (Grant, 1996;Martin et al, 1996;Wiseman & McMillan, 1996;Kandel et al, 1997;Miller, 1997). The large overlap in the use of drugs and alcohol has had significant ramifications for diagnosis and treatment as they are traditionally practiced (Grant, 1996;Martin et al, 1996;Wiseman & McMillan, 1996;Kandel et al, 1997;Miller, 1997).…”

Marijuana Addictive Disorders and DSM-5 Substance-Related Disorders

“…The use of one addicting drug increases the probability of using another addicting drug. Marijuana use is highly correlated with alcohol, opioids including heroin and prescription opioids, and cocaine use disorders [37]. All these drugs act through the mesolimbic reinforcement area in the brain and have a common pathway for addictive use.…”

Nicotine addiction through a neurogenomic prism: Ethics, public health, and smoking

“…Notwithstanding the various methodological issues at hand in case-control studies (Schork et al, 2001), such an array of positive associations could reflect the absence of significant findings or the need to better define the phenotype (Leboyer et al, 1998;Sher, 2000;Stoltenberg & Burmeister, 2000), or may point toward a common neurochemical basis for addictive disorders (Miller, Guttman, & Chawla, 1997), such as the recently proposed "reward deficiency syndrome" (Anonymous, 2001;Blum et al, 2000;. Much more limited evidence is available for the dopamine D1 receptor gene (Comings et al, 1997), the dopamine D4 receptor gene (Lerman et al, 1998a;Shields et al, 1998), the dopamine D5 receptor gene (Sullivan et al, 2001b), and the dopamine transporter gene (Heinz et al, 2000;Jorm et al, 2000;Lerman et al, 1999;Lerman & Swan, 2002;Martinez et al, 2001;Sabol et al, 1999;Vandenbergh et al, 2002).…”