Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41811207›Full record

ArticleAlcohol, clinical & experimental research2026

Bridging genomics and pharmacoepidemiology to expand treatment options for alcohol use disorder.

Christopher T Rentsch, Samantha G Malone, Mingjian Shi, Michael R Setzer, Zachary Piserchia, Emma L Winterlind, Mehdi Farokhnia, John Tazare, Amy C Justice, David A Fiellin and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Alcohol, clinical & experimental research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Christopher T RentschDepartment of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1408-7907
Samantha G MaloneDepartment of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Mingjian ShiDepartment of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1569-9822
Michael R SetzerDepartment of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Zachary PiserchiaDepartment of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Emma L WinterlindDepartment of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2104-1314
Mehdi FarokhniaClinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology Section, Translational Addiction Medicine Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0902-4212
John TazareFaculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Amy C JusticeDepartment of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
David A FiellinDepartment of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4006-010X
Lorenzo LeggioClinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology Section, Translational Addiction Medicine Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7284-8754
Henry R KranzlerMental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Joshua C GrayDepartment of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5351-561X

Funding

The HIV and Alcohol Research center focused on Polypharmacy (HARP)P01AA029545 · NIAAA · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI JUSTICE, AMY CAROLINE · 2021 to 2025
$6.3M
Leveraging GWAS Findings to Map Variants and Identify Novel Effector Genes for Alcohol-Related TraitsR01AA030056 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI Struan F A Grant, MATTHEW S KAYSER · 2023 to 2026
$2.5M
Leveraging genetic and electronic health records data to identify novel targets and drugs for treating alcoholR01AA030041 · NIAAA · HENRY M. JACKSON FDN FOR THE ADV MIL/MED · PI GRAY, JOSHUA CHARLES · 2022 to 2025
$2.3M
Safety and Comparative Effectiveness of New Medications for Unhealthy Alcohol Use in HIVR01AA023733 · NIAAA · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI FIELLIN, DAVID, TATE, JANET · 2015 to 2017
$1.2M
BLRD VA I01 BX004820NIAAA NIH HHS P01 AA029545NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA023733NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA030041NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA030056U.S. Department of War HU0001-22-2-0066
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic, relapsing condition and a major public health problem. However, few medications are approved to treat AUD, and those available show limited efficacy. Drug repurposing is a cost-effective strategy to identify novel therapeutic uses for existing medications. Here, we describe a pipeline that integrates genetic and electronic health record (EHR) data to identify and evaluate drugs to be repurposed for treating AUD.

methodsOur approach comprises (1) alcohol-associated gene identification and biological network generation; (2) mapping drugs to target proteins; (3) filtering promising repurposing candidates; and (4) an exemplar pharmacoepidemiologic analysis of the effect of an identified drug (i.e., baclofen) on alcohol consumption.

resultsLinking loci to genes from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of problematic alcohol use identified 94 genes, which we expanded to 327 alcohol-related genes through network-based analyses. Across these analyses, 52 genes were linked to 195 FDA-approved drugs, including four already approved or used off-label to treat AUD. After filtering for safety, relevance, and data availability, 26 candidate drugs, including baclofen, were selected for further evaluation. An evaluation of the real-world effectiveness of baclofen using national EHR data from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs provided evidence that baclofen-exposed patients reduced alcohol consumption more than propensity-score-matched unexposed patients.

conclusionsThis approach, which aligns genomic findings with real-world clinical data, provides an efficient method for identifying promising drug repurposing candidates and prioritizing those that merit evaluation in randomized trials to ultimately advance pharmacotherapies for AUD.

Indexed as

AlcoholismDrug RepositioningGenomicsPharmacoepidemiologyAlcohol DeterrentsBaclofenElectronic Health RecordsGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansAlcohol DeterrentsBaclofenalcohol use disorder (AUD)drug repurposingelectronic healthrecords (EHR)genome‐wideassociation study (GWAS)pharmacoepidemiology

Identifiers

PMID41811207
PMCPMC13384050

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.