Pharmacogenetic Approach at the Serotonin Transporter Gene as a Method of Reducing the Severity of Alcohol Drinking

Severe drinking can cause serious morbidity and death. Because the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) is an important regulator of neuronal 5-HT function, allelic differences at that gene may modulate the severity of alcohol consumption and predict therapeutic response to the 5-HT₃ receptor antagonist, ondansetron.

The authors randomized 283 alcoholics by genotype in the 5′-regulatory region of the 5-HTT gene (LL/LS/SS), with additional genotyping for another functional single-nucleotide polymorphism (T/G), rs1042173, in the 3′-untranslated region, in a double-blind controlled trial. Participants received either ondansetron (4 μg/kg twice daily) or placebo for 11 weeks, plus standardized cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Individuals with the LL genotype who received ondansetron had a lower mean number of drinks per drinking day (−1.62) and a higher percentage of days abstinent (11.27%) than those who received placebo. Among ondansetron recipients, the number of drinks per drinking day was lower (−1.53) and the percentage of days abstinent higher (9.73%) in LL compared with LS/SS individuals. LL individuals in the ondansetron group also had a lower number of drinks per drinking day (−1.45) and a higher percentage of days abstinent (9.65%) than all other genotype and treatment groups combined. For both number of drinks per drinking day and percentage of days abstinent, 5′-HTTLPR and rs1042173 variants interacted significantly. LL/TT individuals in the ondansetron group had a lower number of drinks per drinking day (−2.63) and a higher percentage of days abstinent (16.99%) than all other genotype and treatment groups combined.

The authors propose a new pharmacogenetic approach using ondansetron to treat severe drinking and improve abstinence in alcoholics.