The Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Alcoholism (COCA) is a multi-disciplinary, multi-center project to characterize the genetic factors in the predisposition to alcoholism. The project will establish an archival database of comprehensive phenotypic assessments of families which can be correlated with measurements at the genetic level. Lymphoblastoid cell lines are being developed to ensure wide and continued availability of DNA. Since no single group in the field of alcohol studies has the expertise and experience necessary for a comprehensive approach, a consortium of researchers has been formed, including biochemists, clinicians, geneticists, neuropsychologists, neurophysiologists, and statisticians. These experts have been drawn from six different sites - SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn, Washington University, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Connecticut, and University of California in San Diego. All six centers participate in the identical study protocol. This application seeks an additional five years of support to complete COGA's phenotypic data base, to collect accompanying genetic material, and to continue to conduct genetic linkage and candidate gene studies. During the first five years of support (1989-1994) of COCA, a comprehensive, multidimensional assessment protocol was developed, tested, and implemented. A five-year follow-up study (re-interviewing and re-testing) of individuals who will be informative in prospectively establishing the causes of alcoholism and related phenotypes is in progress and will be completed during the next five-year renewal period. In addition, intensive studies of child, adolescent, and young adult offspring (ages of 7 - 20 at time of intake) will be conducted at 2 year intervals. The five-year reassessment of probands and family members of alcohol dependent and control families will add incident cases to the sample of affected individuals and increase diagnostic accuracy, thus providing increased power for genetic linkage and candidate gene studies. The five-year follow-up will also allow the study of new phenotypes based on severity, such as the development of withdrawal, inability to stop drinking, and course of illness, further extending the scope of COGA's genetic studies.
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