Arylsulfatase A levels in patients with chronic alcoholism.
BACKGROUND
The goal of this study was to find the association between low arylsulfatase A (ASA) activity and psychiatric disorders in chronic alcoholic patients.


METHODS
The study was carried out in 30 chronic alcoholic patients (27 male, 3 female); age range was 25-65 years. There were 20 normal controls (18 males, 2 females), and age range was 24-67 years. ASA and routine aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity laboratory tests were measured in blood serum from all patients and control subjects.


RESULTS
Alcoholic patients with psychiatric disorders have ASA average values of 68.25 nmol/mL/4 h. This is less than averages found in the alcoholics without psychiatric disorders group (82.48 nmol/mL/4 h) and the control group (90.8 nmol/mL/4 h). There were no statistically significant differences among the three groups studied. Alcoholic subjects with elevated activity of AST and ALT (n = 10) have ASA activity average values of 134.82 nmol/mL/4 h), which is 48.8% higher than the control group (90.6 nmol/mL/4 h). These means show statistically significant differences (p <0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Results indicate an association between low serum ASA activity and alcoholism. The appearance of psychiatric manifestations could be related to the low activity of this enzyme in chronic alcoholic patients. Alcoholic patients with elevated enzyme activity of AST and ALT in sera also have elevated sera arylsulfatase A (ASA) activity. We consider that these findings may be useful for evaluating the psychiatric state as a prognosis in chronic alcoholic patients, and should be a routine laboratory test in alcoholic patients.
Departamento de Genética, Centro de Investigación Biomédica del Noreste, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Apdo. Postal 20, San Luis Potosí y Dos de Abril, Col. Independencia, 64720 Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. mealvarel@hotmail.com
M
M
Alvarez-Leal
R M
RM
Aguirre
J
J
Careaga-Olivares
M A
MA
Zúñiga-Charles
A
A
Hernández-Téllez
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D020268:Alcohol-Induced Disorders, Nervous System / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000523:psychology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology; D002553:Cerebroside-Sulfatase / Q000097:blood*; D004796:Clinical Enzyme Tests; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology; D011379:Prognosis
D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D002553:Cerebroside-Sulfatase