Alcoholism Gene Therapy Shows Promise

Scientists in North and South America have developed a form of gene therapy that could feasibly help to treat alcoholism by causing unpleasant physical side effects in individuals who imbibe. The approach harnesses a short hairpin RNA (shRNA), which is delivered to liver cells using an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector to prevent expression of a liver enzyme that is involved in metabolizing ethanol into acetate.The researchers, headed by Anamaria C. Sanchez, Ph.D.,  from the University of