Unsuccessful attempts to quit smoking a hundred times over might be explained not through lack of will, but proteins in the brain. A genetic study of 14,000 people in Europe and the US has shown that variations in segments of two proteins that serve as gateways for nicotine entry into brain cells can predict the risk of addiction.
The study by US and Canadian scientists has shown that people with specific gene sequence coding for these proteins are more likely to be addicted to nicotine than people whose sequences are subtly different.
The two proteins called alpha-3 and alpha-5 form sites on brain cells which are activated during the process of addiction.
“Pharmaceutical companies can now study these targets and develop new drugs that could help people quit (smoking)”
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