The galanin receptor 1 gene associates with XXXX craving in smokers seeking cessation treatment.

@entity1 @entity286 @entity3347 @entity72982 @entity44980 @entity48380 @entity17378 @entity734
Craving for @entity286 is a major challenge for @entity1 with @entity17378 ( @entity17378 ) who try to quit smoking. Galanin (GAL) and its receptors (GALRs) can alter addiction-related behaviors and are therefore good candidates for modulators of behavioral parameters associated with smoking. We performed a genetic association study in 486 subjects (432 European American, EA) recruited for smoking cessation trials. Twenty-six candidate genes for @entity17378 -related phenotypes were selected based on the literature. Subjects were assessed using the @entity3347 ( @entity3347 ), which included a specific item for craving, the Fagerstr  m Scale of Nicotine @entity734 (FTND), and other @entity17378 -related instruments. One single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in GALR1, @entity44980 , significantly associated with severity of craving in EA samples (p=6.48 * 10(-6)) and in the combined sample (p=9.23 * 10(-6)). Individuals with TT and TC genotypes had significantly higher craving scores than CC subjects. We also observed that SNPs in the CHRNA5 locus, @entity48380 and @entity72982 , which have been associated with @entity17378 -related phenotypes in previous studies, were nominally associated with FTND scores, although these results did not meet Bonferroni-adjusted criteria for experiment-wide significance. Our findings suggest that variation at GALR1 associates with differences in the severity of past craving for @entity286 among smokers motivated to quit. Taken together with preclinical evidence, these results, if replicated, suggest that GAL and GALRs may be useful therapeutic targets for the pharmacological treatment of @entity17378 . Our results also confirm previously reported associations between variation at CHRNA5 and @entity17378 .
