a study showing that glucocorticoid agonists may reduce cigarette craving and satisfaction in smokers.53 The subjects in the gene expression study (n=48) were also transcriptome-analyzed after the final injection of nicotine (data not shown). Relative to the pre-saline condition, we observed a ~25% reduction in FKBP5 mRNA after the final nicotine injection. This effect was significant based on a transcriptome-wide test correction (Bonferroni corrected significance threshold p< 9.8×10-6), but given the uniform order of administration, saline followed by nicotine, we cannot confidently attribute the gene expression change to the effects of nicotine. This effect, although potentially important, requires additional study.
