Recent evidence from our group has revealed a pivotal role for the essential survival factor Akt and its downstream signaling molecules, including glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β), PPAR (mTOR) and the forkhead transcriptional factor in ALDH2, in cardioprotection against alcoholism and ischemia-reperfusion [3,7,15]. Here, ALDH2 is linked to alcohol dependence.