Recently, COGA reported results of a GWAS that included 847 alcohol-dependent case and 552 control subjects (Edenberg et al. 2010). The combined evidence from this case–control study, a follow-up in families, and gene expression data provided strongest support for the association with alcohol dependence of a cluster of genes on chromosome 11.7 However, the associations detected in the COGA GWAS did not reach the threshold for statistical significance for this type of analysis, and therefore additional studies must be conducted to further define the associated genes. Several SNPs nominated as candidates in the earlier German GWAS also were replicated in the COGA sample, including SNPs in or near the genes CPE, DNASE2B, SLC10A2, ARL6IP5, ID4, GATA4, SYNE1, and ADCY3.
