The Genetics of Addiction

This blog about the genetics of addiction is brought to you by the Alumni Department of Sober Living by the Sea. To learn more about Sober Living by the Sea visit our addiction treatment center website website, to learn more about our treatment programs for men, visit the Landing Men's Rehab and Sunrise Recovery Drug Treatment Ranch in Riverside websites. To learn more about our recovery programs for women, visit The Rose Rehab for Women website, and to learn about our treatment program for eating disorders and addiction visit The Victorian House for Eating Disorders and Addiction Treatment.

There is often a very lively discussion on the Sober Living by the Sea Campus about the extent that genetics play in the development of addiction.

There is always a hope in the recovery community that "science may one day" provide a solution that will make the changing of addictive behavior much more effortless than it currently is. By identifying genetic components that predict addiction, there is hope that science is progressing to the point where people suffering from chemical dependencies can get a supportive medical regimen that will make it an "easier, softer" process.

There is a new relsease from the National Institute of Drug Abuse indicating that that more research is performed on the genetics of addiction, the more evidence there is that there are genetic components that predict individuals predisposition to addiction. The latest study results focus on nicotine.

Is this a reason to hope that the treatment of addiction might be poised for a breakthrough in the near future? We are all watching and waiting...

http://www.drugabuse.gov/newsroom/08/NR4-02a.html