Alteration of biological markers in alcohol-dependent individuals without liver disease during the detoxification therapy.
OBJECTIVE
The need for sensitive biological markers to detect and prove recent drinking has been the focus of many research groups. The aim of our study was to investigate the alterations of biological markers in a population of alcohol dependent individuals during the detoxification period.


METHODS
Fifty-two alcohol-dependent individuals were admitted for alcohol detoxification on an inpatient basis. Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were obtained at admission and on a 15-day basis. Comparisons between measures were made with t-test.


RESULTS
All biochemical parameters associated with alcoholism, with the exception of MCV, were statistically significantly decreased during the detoxification process (p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
CDT is an excellent marker of alcohol overconsumption during evaluation, as well as during the detoxification treatment. IL-6 could serve as an additional marker to CDT, a point needing further investigation.
Chatzipanagiotou
Stylianos
S
Department of Medical Biopathology, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece. schatzi@med.uoa.gr
Kalykaki
Maria
M
Tzavellas
Elias
E
Karaiskos
Dimitrios
D
Paparrigopoulos
Thomas
T
Liappas
Alexander
A
Nicolaou
Chryssoula
C
Michalopoulou
Maria
M
Zoga
Margarita
M
Boufidou
Fotini
F
Liappas
Ioannis
I
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000378:metabolism; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014168:Transferrin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism
D015415:Biomarkers; C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014168:Transferrin; C056759:carbohydrate-deficient transferrin; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase