CSF diazepam-binding inhibitor in alcoholics and normal controls.
Diazepam-binding-inhibitor (DBI) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are colocalized in neurons in the brain. This system has been implicated in anxiety and in the regulation of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) secretion. Alcohol has direct and indirect effects on the functioning of GABAA receptors. Abstinent alcoholics are, on the average, more anxious than controls. In tests of animal behavior, DBI has anxiogenic, and alcohol has anxiolytic potency. Therefore, we compared alcoholic patients and healthy controls for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of DBI, and looked for a correlation between CSF levels of DBI and CRH. There was no significant difference in CSF concentrations of DBI between the two groups and no significant correlation between CSF DBI and our measure of anxiety. However, there was a significant positive correlation between CSF levels of DBI and CRH in both the alcoholic and control groups.
Roy
A
A
Hillside Hospital, Division of Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Glen Oaks, NY 11004.
DeJong
J
J
Adinoff
B
B
Barbaccia
M
M
Costa
E
E
Guidotti
A
A
Linnoila
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D026261:Diazepam Binding Inhibitor; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D012737:Sex Factors
D026261:Diazepam Binding Inhibitor; D009479:Neuropeptides; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone