possibly associated to ND, including both novel genes (e.g., neurexin 1, NRXN1, and vacuolar protein sorting 13 homolog A, VPS13A) and genes that were previously considered candidates based on known physiology (e.g., cholinergic receptor, nicotinic, alpha 5, CHRNA5). The latter finding has been confirmed in larger studies (see below). Subsequent GWAS studies demonstrated striking association between variation in the nicotinic receptor gene cluster CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 and ND and related traits (Berrettini et al. 2008; Thorgeirsson et al. 2008), as well as with lung cancer (Amos et al. 2008; Hung et al. 2008). These findings have implications for AD risk also.
