New approaches to identifying rare genetic variants associated with nicotine dependence.

摘要

The publication of candidate gene studies related to nicotine dependence (ND) increased rapidly in the late 1990s and 2000s with a number of studies supporting a rolefor variation in nicotinic acetycholine receptor (nAchR) genes. For example, several studies reported that variation in the CHRNA4 gene was related to the stimulatory effects of nicotine and nicotine dependence as well as to treatment outcomes (1,2).