CSF gamma-aminobutyric acid in alcoholics and control subjects.
Alcohol has widespread effects on the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system in the brain. This system in the brain is also postulated to have a role in anxiety, and alcoholics have been reported to have more anxiety disorders. Therefore, the authors undertook a study to compare CSF levels of GABA in abstinent alcoholic patients and normal control subjects. There was no significant difference between groups in CSF levels of GABA. Also, there was no significant difference in GABA level between alcoholic patients with histories of withdrawal seizures and those without such a history.
Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, Md.
A
A
Roy
J
J
DeJong
T
T
Ferraro
B
B
Adinoff
B
B
Ravitz
M
M
Linnoila
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012640:Seizures / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D012737:Sex Factors; D012746:Sexual Abstinence; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000209:etiology; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
D000431:Ethanol; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid