Ongoing clinical trials with pexacerfont and verucerfont in moderately to highly severe dependent anxious alcoholics may yield insight as to the role of CRF(1) receptor antagonists in a personalized medicine approach to treat drug or alcohol dependence.
Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1 gene (CRHR1) are associated with quantitative trait of event-related potential and alcohol dependence.
It is concluded from the findings of the studies discussed in this review that CRF has a central role in the modulation of the stress response and that genetic variations in CRF or CRF1 may confer a susceptibility to alcoholism which is, in part, mediated by life stressors.
To investigate the role of the corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1) in patterns of human alcohol drinking and its potential contribution to alcohol dependence, we analysed two independent samples: a sample of adolescents, which consisted of individuals from the 'Mannheim Study of Risk Children' (MARC), who had little previous exposure to alcohol, and a sample of alcohol-dependent adults, who met DSM-IV criteria of alcohol dependence.
The results of this study suggest that polymorphisms in the CRHR 1 gene are not major risk factors for the development of alcohol dependence in persons of European ancestry.