although other research (Cruchaga et al. 2009) suggests that multiple genes may be involved. However, since our finding involves a G × E interaction rather than a main effect, it will be considerably more difficult to conduct this type of investigation. If the effects that we observe are a consequence of a CRHR1 polymorphism, our results may have immediate clinical relevance. Researchers have recently developed (Gehlert et al. 2007) improved CRF1 antagonist drugs which are already scheduled for pharmaceutical company-sponsored clinical trials of alcohol dependence treatment. Our findings would predict that H1 homozygotes with a history of severe early trauma exposure will preferentially respond to these agents. More generally, our findings emphasize the potential utility of screening for severe early trauma exposure in individuals presenting for alcohol dependence treatment.
