Methylation of the serotonin transporter gene moderates the depressive subjective effect of cocaine.

Genetic variation in the serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) has been shown to moderate the acute subjective effects of cocaine. Methylation of the SLC6A4 gene is associated with decreased transcription of the serotonin transporter, leading to increased serotonin in the synapse. In this study, methylation of the SLC6A4 gene was investigated in the moderation of the subjective effects of cocaine.

The influence of dopamine β-hydroxylase gene polymorphism rs1611115 on levodopa/carbidopa treatment for cocaine dependence: a preliminary study.

Recent studies have suggested that heterogeneity in the level of dopamine activity and function might be useful for identifying a subgroup of cocaine-dependent patients responding better to dopamine-enhancement pharmacotherapy. Here we hypothesized that response to levodopa/carbidopa treatment would be greater in patients with genetically determined low levels of the dopamine metabolizing enzyme dopamine β-hydroxylase (DβH). Seventy-one cocaine-dependent patients who participated in a 12-week randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of levodopa/carbidopa were genotyped for the DβH gene (DBH) polymorphism rs1611115.

A variant in ANKK1 modulates acute subjective effects of cocaine: a preliminary study.

This study aimed to evaluate whether functional variants in the ankyrin repeat and kinase domain-containing 1 (ANKK1) gene and/or the dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) gene modulate the subjective effects (reward or non-reward response to a stimulus) produced by cocaine administration. Cocaine-dependent participants (N = 47) were administered 40 mg of cocaine or placebo at time 0, and a subjective effects questionnaire (visual analog scale) was administered 15 min prior to cocaine administration, and at 5, 10, 15 and 20 min following administration. The influence of polymorphisms in the ANKK1 and DRD2 genes on subjective experience of cocaine in the laboratory was tested.

The MTHFR C677T Variant is Associated with Responsiveness to Disulfiram Treatment for Cocaine Dependency.

Objective: Disulfiram is a one of the few pharmacotherapies for cocaine addiction that shows promise. Since disulfiram and cocaine both affect levels of global methylation we hypothesized the MTHFR gene, whose product is involved in supplying methyl groups for DNA and protein methylation, may be associated with responsiveness to disulfiram in cocaine-dependent individuals.

Methods: Sixty-seven cocaine-dependent patients were stabilized on methadone for 2 weeks and then randomized into disulfiram (250 mg/day, N = 32) and placebo groups (N = 35) for 10 weeks.