Chunk #20 — 3. Pharmacogenetic Studies of Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder in Individuals of Diverse Ancestries — 3.2 Individuals of East Asian Ancestry
The first treatment trial investigating the pharmacogenetic response of NTX in a non-European sample, examined the Asn40Asp polymorphism in Korean AD individuals. This investigation found that treatment-adherent A/G or G/G (n=16) carriers took significantly longer to relapse (p = 0.014) than A/A carriers (n=16),45 similar to what has been previously reported in individuals of European ancestry, who had both significantly lower rates of relapse and a longer time to return to heavy drinking, as well as an increased percentage of days abstinent and a decreased percentage of heavy drinking days.32 The underlying mechanism of this treatment response may be informed by a study of heavy drinking individuals of East Asian ancestry who were treated with NTX and received intravenous (IV) alcohol administration.46 The authors found that G allele carriers (n=22) were less likely to crave alcohol when treated with NTX relative to placebo or A allele (Asn40) homozygotes (n=13; p < 0.05). Thus, NTX appears to be most effective in Asp40 carriers, individuals who experience greater hedonic and stimulating subjective effects from alcohol administration.21, 22 The findings above indicate that
