title: [Usefulness of sialic acid determination to differentiation between alcohol abuse and alcoholic liver cirrhosis].
abstract: Sialic acid is a new marker of alcohol abuse. The synthesis and the catabolism of sialic acid takes place in the liver, therefore the status of liver can influence the total serum level of sialic acid (TSA). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of alcoholic liver disease on the serum level of TSA and the usefulness of TSA determination to differentiation between alcoholics without liver disease and those with alcoholic liver cirrhosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum TSA was determined in 63 alcohol-dependent males (aged 23-77 years, average 46 yrs), 46 patients suffering from alcoholic liver cirrhosis (aged 26-66 years, average 48 yrs) and 50 healthy men by enzymatic-colorimetric method. The diagnosis of dependency was made on the basis of ICD-10 criteria, and alcoholic liver cirrhosis was recognized on the basis of physical examination, liver ultrasound, endoscopy and laboratory tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The TSA concentrations in the alcohol abuse patients were significantly higher than in healthy controls but in alcoholics with liver cirrhosis did not differ in comparison to the controls. The diagnostic power of TSA determination in alcoholic patients without liver disease is high but in alcoholics with liver cirrhosis--low. The elevated level of TSA in alcohol abuse patients distinguish (ROC analysis) alcoholics without the liver disease and alcoholics with the liver cirrhosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Diagnostic power of total sialic acid concentration in alcoholics with healthy liver is higher than in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Therefore, TSA determination is usefulness diagnostic test for the differentiation between alcoholics without alcoholic liver disease and those with the alcoholic liver cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemical Diagnostics, Medical University of Bialystok, Poland. zdb@umwb.edu.pl
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cylwik
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brodowska
authors.forename: Lech
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chrostek
authors.forename: Anatol
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Panasiuk
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szmitkowski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid