Study examines abnormal dreams on Varenicline

Researchers have identified variants in a gene that affect the likelihood of smokers developing abnormal dreams while taking a quit drug.

The study is published in the news Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Varenicline is a medication commonly used to help people trying to quit smoking. Although Varenicline is one of the most effective medications for this purpose, at least 10% of users experience abnormal dreams. These can be brisk and even violent in nature, disrupting sleep, increasing the stress of quitting and making success less likely.

The research is conducted by an international team led by Dr. Meghan Chenoweth from the University of Toronto and including Jo Knight, Professor of Applied Data Science at Lancaster Medical School.

Professor Knight said: “Quitting smoking isn’t easy. Genetics plays a role in many parts of the addiction journey, from smoking initiation to response to treatment. Understanding the impacts of each step is an important part of making it easier for people to resign.”

It is estimated that more than eight million people die prematurely each year due to tobacco use. While just over half of adult smokers try to quit each year, only eight percent successfully quit for six months or more.

Even with Varenicline, the most effective smoking cessation aid, the long-term smoking cessation rate is only about 25%.

The team scanned the entire genome, or genetic makeup, of people who received treatment with varenicline to find genes linked to abnormal dreams. They identified a specific variant in a gene called ICAM5 that was associated with a higher risk of experiencing abnormal dreams when taking varenicline.

This variant was not only associated with abnormal dreams, but was also associated with a greater likelihood of quitting smoking. The ICAM5 gene makes a protein that helps nerve cells, also called neurons, to communicate with each other.

Dr. Chenoweth said, “If our findings are replicated by additional studies, we may be able to preemptively examine the genetics of people trying to quit smoking and use this information to select the treatment that gives them the best chance of recovery.” good luck.

“We could tell people with the variant in the ICAM5 gene that, although they are more likely to have abnormal dreams when they take varenicline, they are more likely to stop this treatment compared to people without this variant.”