A CNR1 Withdrawal-Symptom Association Was Not Consistent Evidence About Seizures
An association between a CNR1 variant and reported alcohol-withdrawal severity did not consistently extend to withdrawal seizures. A supplied review describes positive and null findings for these different outcomes.
The initial result concerned symptom severity
Pava and Woodward discuss rs1049353, also described as the 1359G/A polymorphism. One study associated the A/A genotype with greater withdrawal severity. That is a group association involving a specified outcome, not a deterministic genetic effect.
Related clinical endpoints did not reproduce the same result
The review describes another report failing to find an association with withdrawal-seizure incidence and a further study finding no association with alcohol dependence. Severity, seizure occurrence and diagnosis are related but distinct endpoints.
Specify what a proposed genetic marker predicts
A variant associated with one measure cannot automatically be used to predict the others. Differences could reflect outcome definitions, samples or other study features; the review does not establish a single explanation. These historical findings support caution about translating cannabinoid-receptor genetics into individual risk estimates. They do not provide a validated seizure prediction rule or a basis for deciding treatment from genotype alone.
Related reading: Alcohol–Endocannabinoid Reviews Need to Keep Stages of Dependence Separate.
Research cited
Pava MJ, Woodward JJ. A Review of the Interactions between Alcohol and the Endocannabinoid System: Implications for Alcohol Dependence and Future Directions for Research (2012). The experiments discussed here are described through this supplied review.
