Inventors:
Kenneth Blum - San Antonio TX
Ernest P. Noble - Los Angeles CA
Peter J. Sheridan - San Antonio TX
Assignee:
Board of Regents, The University of Texas System - Austin TX
Regents of the University of California - Oakland CA
International Classification:
C12Q 168, C12P 1934, C07H 2104, C12N 1500
Abstract:
In an important embodiment, the present invention concerns a method for diagnosing and detecting compulsive disorder susceptibility of an individual. The method comprises initially obtaining a DNA sample of said individual and then determining the presence or absence of particular human D. sub. 2 receptor gene alleles in said sample. Detection of said alleles in the sample are indicative of predilection to compulsive disorder. A most preferred embodiment is to detect predisposition to impulsive, addictive, and compulsive disorders such as, but not limited to, alcoholism, obesity, smoking, polysubstance abuse and drug addiction, particularly because said alleles have been found to be present in a majority of individuals clinically diagnosed with these compulsive disorders. The human D. sub. 2 receptor gene A1, B1, and. sup.