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Study finds varying effects of binge drinking in men and women

Study finds varying effects of binge drinking in men and women
It was found that in females the genes linked to hormone signalling and immune function are altered © Shutterstock

The area of the brain that is linked to addiction has remarkably different gene expression for men and women says the study.

Written by Sudhakar Jha |Published : September 11, 2018 9:36 PM IST

Consumption of alcohol at an excessive rate is associated with a lot of health problems. And different studies have proven that binge drinking takes a heavy toll on the organs, especially brain. But not a lot of them have studied the varying impact of alcohol on genders.

In the study published in the journal Frontiers in Genetics, it was found that repeated binge drinking was found to modify molecular pathways to a significant amount in the nucleus accumbens a region of the brain that is linked with addiction. It was found that in females the genes linked to hormone signalling and immune function are altered. On the other hand, nerve signalling was affected due to binge drinking. For the study, the team analysed gene expression in nucleus accumbens of men and women differently.

Lead researcher Dr. Deborah Finn, Professor at Oregon Health and Science University said in the study, "We examined the effect of repeated binge drinking on the expression of 384 genes previously identified as important in addiction and mood disorders."

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The study found that out of the total of 106 genes controlled by binge drinking, just 14 were regulated in both males and females. They also found that just 4 of those 14 genes were regulated in the same way and the top 30 genes regulated by binge drinking in each sex differed significantly.

"We have shown that pharmacologically manipulating a pathway in both sexes that only was affected by binge drinking in males did not decrease binge drinking in females; binge drinking was only decreased in males," Finn explained in the study.

Dr. Finn and her team noted that taking into account the sex was critical in the development of potential therapies for the treatment of alcohol abuse.