of life of the growing elderly population. Additionally, knowledge of this genotype could identify smokers who should be evaluated for possible hearing loss, regardless of whether or not they report symptoms; although human subject studies will be required to ascertain whether the effect exerted by this one variant is clinically important. Further, there is the possibility that this finding may lead to identification of drug targets whereby this risk can be addressed pharmacologically, in subjects who are unable to cease smoking. Finally, we conclude based on our current and previous results that the genetic investigations of specific population categories, such as nicotine-exposed subjects, alcoholics, or individuals exposed to combat or trauma, can successfully identify mechanisms that differ from those present in the general population26, 37–39.
