Rs324420

rs324420 is a SNP, also known as Pro129Thr, in the fatty acid amide hydrolase FAAH gene, which has shown associations with some substance use disorders. rs324420(C) encodes the more common Pro, while the (A) allele encodes the Thr.

Among 80 individuals with drug abuse or alcoholism and over 1,000 controls, the odds ratio for risk of problem drug or alcohol use among rs324420(A;A) individuals was 4.5 (CI: 2.2 - 8.4); the odds ratio for risk of street drug use was 2.2 (CI: 1.3&#8211;3.7); and the odds ratio for risk of combined street drug use and problem drug/alcohol use was 4.9 (CI: 2.5&#8211;9.7)

When this study was pooled with the results of another study of 249 subjects with documented multiple different drug addictions compared to drug free individuals of the same ethnic backgrounds, the results were consistent and even more significant (p = 0.00003). Risk for drug dependence (and drug abuse was associated with rs324420(A;A) homozygotes.

In a study of 40 daily marijuana users who abstained for 24 h and were then presented with a cue-elicited craving paradigm, followed by smoking a marijuana cigarette, rs324420(A) was significantly associated with changes in withdrawal after abstinence and with happiness after smoking marijuana, but was not associated with changes in heart rate after smoking or with changes in craving or other acute effects.


 * See also OMIM