title: Leptin levels are reduced by intravenous ghrelin administration and correlated with cue-induced alcohol craving.
abstract: Increasing evidence supports the role of appetite-regulating pathways, including ghrelin and leptin, in alcoholism. This study tested the hypothesis that intravenous exogenous ghrelin administration acutely decreases endogenous serum leptin levels, and that changes in leptin levels negatively correlate with alcohol craving. This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled human laboratory study. Non-treatment-seeking, alcohol-dependent, heavy drinkers (n=45) were randomized to receive intravenous ghrelin or placebo, followed by a cue-reactivity procedure, during which participants were exposed to neutral (juice) and alcohol trial cues. There was a main effect for intravenous ghrelin administration, compared with placebo, in reducing serum leptin levels (P<0.01). Post hoc analysis showed significant differences in serum leptin levels at the alcohol trial (P<0.05) that persisted at the end of the experiment (P<0.05). By contrast, there were no significant differences in serum leptin levels at the juice trial (P=not significant (NS)). The change of serum leptin level at the alcohol trial correlated with the increase in alcohol urge (P<0.05), whereas urge to drink juice was not correlated with the leptin change at the juice trial (P=NS). These findings provide preliminary evidence of ghrelin-leptin cross-talk in alcoholic individuals and suggest that their relationship may have a role in alcohol craving.
authors.affiliation: Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.|Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Haass-Koffler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Aoun
authors.affiliation: Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.|Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Swift
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery, Rhode Island Hospital and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: de la Monte
authors.affiliation: Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Kenna
authors.affiliation: Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.|Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leggio
mesh_terms: D061605:Administration, Intravenous; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D066249:Craving / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D054439:Ghrelin; D020738:Leptin; D000431:Ethanol