A Whole Methylome Study of Ethanol Exposure in Brain and Blood: An Exploration of the Utility of Peripheral Blood as Proxy Tissue for Brain in Alcohol Methylation Studies

Background: Recent reviews have highlighted the potential use of blood-based methylation biomarkers as diagnostic and prognostic tools of current and future alcohol use and addiction. Due to the substantial overlap that often exists between methylation patterns across different tissues, including blood and brain, blood-based methylation may track methylation changes in brain, however, little work has explored the overlap in alcohol related methylation in these tissues.