Axiotl

Article Overview

Adversity, despair, and opioids

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Mar 1, 2023

Axiotl and opioids

In 2020, the opioid epidemic claimed 93,000 lives. It’s a crisis that largely affects the young; adjusted for years of life lost, the opioid epidemic was responsible for the loss of 3.5 million years of life in 2020.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a complex problem

SUDs are influenced by a person's environment, genetics, and lifestyle. By the time someone has developed Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), changes have already occurred within the epigenomes of their brains.

Old approaches fall short of a cure

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS), the gold standard in genomic research studies, search for commonalities across large groups of people to identify genetic variants that affect risk. A major 10,000-person GWAS identified just one gene responsible for OUD, the opioid mu receptor gene, or OPRM1.

Searching for solutions

Recognizing the need for a better solution to this deadly crisis, Axiotl teamed up with academic researchers at Case Western University, MIT’s Whitehead Institute, Icahn School of Medicine, Western Michigan University, Nova South Eastern University, and RTI International to search for new genetic targets. Applying Convergence Analysis to the frontal cortex of just 51 overdose cases and 51 controls, we emerged with five new candidate genes for OUD.

This initial study offers hope for an accelerated understanding of how opioid use changes the brain epigenome and interacts with genetics and the environment.