At some time during their lives, about 18 percent of Americans experience one or the other disorder. More than 50 percent of Americans have direct family experience with alcohol disorders. Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Researchers recently identified chromosomal regions believed to contain genes that either increase or decrease the risk for alcohol dependence. They expect soon to identify the actual genes, paving the way for new medications that precisely target alcoholism risk.
Research also is under way to precisely define environmental risk factors.
In addition, researchers are beginning to understand the role of neurochemical factors, some of which are genetically determined, in the development and maintenance of alcoholism. Behavioral therapies have been used for many years to treat alcohol dependence. Medications currently used to treat alcohol dependence are naltrexone and acamprosate. Acamprosate, which has been prescribed in Europe for more than 14 years, appears to normalize brain neurotransmitter systems involved in alcohol withdrawal and, thereby, to reduce the likelihood of a relapse to drinking.