'Drunk' gene that may protect against alcoholism discovered

As well as providing a cheap night out, it is believed to protect against alcoholism. Previous research has shown that people who react strongly to alcohol are less likely to become alcoholics.

The gene, CYP2E1, provides the coded instructions for making an enzyme that breaks down alcohol. Scientists found that 10 per cent to 20 per cent of the population possess a particular version of the gene that causes them to get drunk easily.

The first few drinks during a night out will leave these individuals feeling more inebriated than their friends.

Drugs that enhance the effect of CYP2E1 could in future be used to sensitise people to alcohol before an evening's drinking – or even sober them up when they have had one too many.

Scientists in the US investigated the genetics of 237 college student siblings who had one alcohol-dependent parent but were not alcoholics themselves. They homed in on an end region of chromosome 10 where the CYP2E1 gene resides.

Participants' response to drinking was linked to their genetic make-up. Students were given a mixture of grain alcohol and soda that was equivalent to about three average alcoholic drinks. At regular intervals they were then asked whether they felt drunk, sober, sleepy or awake.

Senior study author Professor Kirk Wilhelmsen, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said: "We have found a gene that protects against alcoholism, and on top of that, has a very strong effect.

"But alcoholism is a very complex disease, and there are lots of complicated reasons why people drink. This may be just one of the reasons."