title: Sleep and the cholinergic rem sleep induction test in patients with primary alcoholism.
abstract: Sleep disturbances of alcoholics while actively drinking and at the beginning of, and during, abstinence were frequently reported. Recently, Gillin et al. (1994) showed that a high "REM sleep pressure" at the time of admission to a 1-month inpatient alcohol treatment program predicted the relapse in nondepressed patients with primary alcoholism at 3 months following hospital discharge. We investigated 24 patients with primary alcoholism after 2-3 weeks abstinence in the sleep laboratory; in 15 of these patients the cholinergic REM sleep induction test (CRIT) with 10 mg galanthamine was performed additionally. In comparison with an age- and sex-matched healthy control group, patients had a heightened "REM sleep pressure" including shortened REM latency and increased REM density. A decrease of serotonergic neurotransmission is proposed as being the neurochemical mechanism to explain the results in alcoholic subjects. Follow-up investigations will clarify whether the sleep abnormalities in alcoholism are state- or trait-markers and whether they are suitable to predict the relapse risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, D-79104, Germany.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Gann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faulmann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kiemen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ebert
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Backhaus
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hornyak
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Voderholzer
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hohagen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Riemann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005702:Galantamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D005702:Galantamine