title: Serum sialic acid levels are increased during relapse to alcohol drinking: a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sialic acid has been suggested to be a potential marker for alcohol abuse. A previous study showed that sialic acid levels were significantly higher in serum among alcoholics as compared with social drinkers. In addition, serum sialic acid concentrations decreased after a treatment program aiming at abstinence. In this study, sialic acid was investigated as a possible marker for relapse to alcohol drinking.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum from alcohol-dependent patients in outpatient treatment ( n = 8) was analyzed for sialic acid by a colorimetric assay. A baseline sample was taken when the subject had been abstinent for longer than 4 weeks. A second sample was taken after relapse within 3 days after cessation of drinking. A relapse was defined as two or more days with daily drinking of more than 60 g of pure alcohol.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sialic acid levels were significantly increased by 21% (median; range, 6-33%; < 0.01; n = 8) after a relapse as compared with the level after 4 weeks or longer of abstinence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that serum sialic acid levels are significantly increased even after a short period of heavy drinking and may be a potential marker for relapse.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012008:Recurrence; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013695:Temperance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid