%0 Journal Article
%T The role of ALDH2 and ADH1B polymorphism in alcohol consumption and stroke in Han Chinese
%A Chung-Tay Yao
%A Chun-An Cheng
%A Hsu-Kun Wang
%A Shao-Wen Chiu
%A Yi-Chyan Chen
%A Ming-Fang Wang
%A Shih-Jiun Yin
%A Giia-Sheun Peng
%J Human Genomics
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1479-7364-5-6-569
%X Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the major cause of disability requiring long-term institutionalisation in Taiwan [1]. Epidemiological evidence has shown that heavy drinking is a major risk factor for all stroke subtypes [2].Alcohol metabolism is one of the biological determinants that can significantly influence drinking behaviour and the development of alcoholism and alcohol-related organ damage [3,4]. Most ethanol elimination occurs via oxidation to acetaldehyde and acetate, catalysed principally by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), respectively [5]. The genes encoding both enzymes exhibit polymorphism and ethnic variations [6,7]. The allelic variant ALDH2*2 is best known for its role in ethanol metabolism and has been shown to be protective against the development of alcohol dependence [8,9]. Although the ADH1B*2 variant has also been documented as a negative risk factor for developing alcoholism, studies of its effect on drinking behaviour in Asian populations have been inconclusive [10-12]. Among East Asians, including Han Chinese, Japanese and Koreans, 80-90 per cent of individuals carry the variant allele ADH1B*2: this encodes the high-activity ADH1B allozyme which catalyses the oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde [4,13]. ADH1B*2 occurs with a much lower frequency in Caucasian and black populations [8]. The variant ALDH2*2 allele encodes the very-low-activity allozyme of ALDH2, impairing the conversion of acetaldehyde to acetate [4]. This inborn error of acetaldehyde metabolism occurs uniquely in about half of East Asians but is rarely seen in other ethnic groups [14].The ALDH2*2 variant has been reported to be involved in alcohol-related diseases, including oropharyngolaryngeal, oesophageal and stomach cancer,[15] colorectal cancer,[16] breast cancer,[17] asthma[18] and myocardial infarction [19,20]. Recently, the ALDH2 polymorphism has been found to contribute to variations in the efficacy of nitroglycerin treatm
%K alcohol dehydrogenase
%K aldehyde dehydrogenase
%K Han Chinese
%K stroke
%K high alcohol consumption
%K allelic variation
%U http://www.humgenomics.com/content/5/6/569