Association Between GSTP1 Ile105Val Genetic Polymorphism and Dependency to Heroin and Opium

Influence of GSTP-1 Polymorphism on the Prognosis of Patients with High-Grade Glioma Who Received Temozolomide Plus Radiotherapy Adjuvant Treatment

Background

Glutathione S-Transferase P 1 (GSTP-1) gene plays an important physiological role in the body. The present study was conducted to identify the clinical implication of GSTP-1 gene polymorphism on the prognosis of patients with high-grade glioma (HGG) who received temozolomide plus radiotherapy adjuvant treatment.

Methods

This study recruited a total of 186 patients with HGG who were treated with temozolomide plus radiotherapy adjuvant regimen (retrospectively). Baseline clinical characteristics were obtained and the prognostic data of the patients were collected. Peripheral blood specimen of patients was preserved for genotyping of GSTP-1 polymorphism during hospitalization. Correlation analysis was carried out accordingly. Additionally, fresh peripheral blood specimens that were available for mRNA expression analysis were collected for the mRNA expression analysis.

Results

The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the 186 patients with HGG who received temozolomide plus radiotherapy regimen was 8.5 months (95% CI: 5.95–11.05) and 15.5 months (95% CI: 11.49–19.51), respectively. The prevalence of 313A>G among 186 patients with glioma was AA genotype: 126 cases (67.7%), AG genotype: 54 cases (29.1%), GG genotype: 6 cases (3.2%), minor allele frequency of 313A>G was 0.18. Association analysis suggested that the median PFS of patients with AA and AG/GG genotypes was 11.2 and 5.0 months, respectively (χ²=11.17, P=0.001). Furthermore, the median OS of patients with AA and AG/GG genotypes was 18.9 and 10.5 months, respectively (χ²=12.684, P<0.001). Besides, when adjusted for PFS in multivariate Cox regression analysis, AG/GG genotype was an independent factor for PFS (HR=0.48, P=0.006). The mRNA expression results indicated that mRNA expression of GSTP-1 in patients with AG/GG genotypes of 313A>G was significantly higher than that of patients with AA genotype (P<0.001).

Conclusion

GSTP-1 polymorphism 313A>G might be used as a potential biomarker to predict the prognosis of patients with HGG who received temozolomide plus radiotherapy adjuvant treatment.

Viral vector-mediated gene therapy for opioid use disorders

Chronic exposure to opioids typically results in adverse consequences. Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a disease of the CNS with behavioral, psychological, neurobiological, and medical manifestations. OUD induces a variety of changes of neurotransmitters/neuropeptides in the nervous system. Existing pharmacotherapy, such as opioid maintenance therapy (OMT) is the mainstay for the treatment of OUD, however, current opioid replacement therapy is far from effective for the majority of patients. Pharmacological therapy for OUD has been challenging for many reasons including debilitating side-effects. Therefore, developing an effective, non-pharmacological approach would be a critical advancement in improving and expanding treatment for OUD. Viral vector mediated gene therapy provides a potential new approach for treating opioid abused patients. Gene therapy can supply targeting gene products directly linked to the mechanisms of OUD to restore neurotransmitter and/or neuropeptides imbalance, and avoid the off-target effects of systemic administration of drugs. The most commonly used viral vectors in rodent studies of treatment of opioid-used disorder are based on recombinant adenovirus (AV), adeno-associated virus (AAV), lentiviral (LV) vectors, and herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors. In this review, we will focus on the recent progress of viral vector mediated gene therapy in OUD, especially morphine tolerance and withdrawal.

Clinical Study of Paliperidone Palmitate Long-Acting Injection Combined With Electroacupuncture in the Treatment of Methamphetamine Addicts

Objective: To explore the clinical efficacy of paliperidone palmitate long-acting injection combined with electroacupuncture in the treatment of methamphetamine addicts.

Methods: This study focused on methamphetamine addicts who were admitted to our hospital from January 2020 to December 2020 as the main research object, with a total of 89 cases. The patients were divided into a control group of 45 cases and a study group of 44 cases according to the treatment method. The control group was treated with electroacupuncture, and the study group was treated with paliperidone palmitate long-acting injection on the basis of electroacupuncture in the control group. After 6 months of continuous treatment, the treatment effect of methamphetamine withdrawal symptom score before and after treatment was used; Hamilton Anxiety Scale score and Hamilton Depression Scale were used to compare the anxiety and depression situation of the two groups; the brain wave α and θ wave situation of the two groups were compared.

Result: The results showed that there was no significant difference in the scores of Ma withdrawal symptoms, Hamilton Anxiety and Hamilton Depression between the two groups before treatment (p < 0.05); after 3 and 6 months of treatment, the scores of Ma withdrawal symptoms, Hamilton Anxiety and Hamilton Depression in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05); 6 months after the completion of the treatment, the α wave amplitude and Fourier transformed α brain wave (FFT_α) in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Paliperidone palmitate long-acting injection combined with electroacupuncture is better than electroacupuncture alone in the treatment of methamphetamine addicts, and can significantly improve anxiety, depression and brain waves, thereby preventing addicts from relapse.

Neuropharmacological and Neurogenetic Correlates of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) As a Function of Ethnicity: Relevance to Precision Addiction Medicine

BACKGROUND

Over 100 people die daily from opioid overdose and $78.5B per year is spent on treatment efforts, however, the real societal cost is multifold greater. Alternative strategies to eradicate/manage drug misuse and addiction need consideration. The perception of opioid addiction as a social/criminal problem has evolved to evidence-based considerations of them as clinical disorders with a genetic basis. We present evaluations of the genetics of addiction with ancestryspecific risk profiles for consideration.

OBJECTIVE

Studies of gene variants associated with predisposition to substance use disorders (SUDs) are monolithic, and exclude many ethnic groups, especially Hispanics and African Americans. We evaluate gene polymorphisms that impact brain reward and predispose individuals to opioid addictions, with a focus on the disparity of research which includes individuals of African and Hispanic descent.

METHODOLOGY

PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for: Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), Genome- wide association studies (GWAS); genetic variants; polymorphisms, restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP); genomics, epigenetics, race, ethnic group, ethnicity, ancestry, Caucasian/ White, African American/Black, Hispanic, Asian, addictive behaviors, reward deficiency syndrome (RDS), mutation, insertion/deletion, and promotor region.

RESULTS

Many studies exclude non-White individuals. Studies that include diverse populations report ethnicity-specific frequencies of risk genes, with certain polymorphisms specifically associated with Caucasian and not African-American or Hispanic susceptibility to OUD or SUDs, and vice versa.

CONCLUSION

To adapt precision medicine-based addiction management in a blended society, we propose that ethnicity/ancestry-informed genetic variations must be analyzed to provide real precision- guided therapeutics with the intent to attenuate this uncontrollable fatal epidemic.