알코올의존 가족력에 따른 알코올의존 환자의 금주상태에서의 혈장내 HVA 및 5-HIAA 농도

Plasma HVA and 5-HIAA Levels in Abstinent Alcoholic Male According to Family History of Alcoholism

Objectives：The authors intended to identify possible biochemical differences in dopaminergic and serotonergic functions between familial and nonfamilial alcoholism by trying to identify differences of plasma HVA and 5-HIAA concentrations in alcohol dependence patients with or without family history. Method：The subjects were 41 male patients with alcohol dependence (DSM-IV) and age, sex matched 41 normal controls. The patients had recovered from acute intoxication at least 6 weeks earlier and did not take any psychiatric medication for more than 4 weeks. We divided alcoholic patients into two groups according to family history of alcoholism, alcohol dependence with family history (N＝21) and alcohol dependence without family history (N＝20). We measured their plasma HVA and 5-HIAA levels using HPLCECD (High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Electrochemical Detection) method. T-test and Pearson correlation test were used for statistical analysis. Results：Both plasma HVA and 5- HIAA levels in patients with alcohol dependence were significantly lower than normal controls. Alcohol dependence with family history had significantly lower plasma HVA levels than without family history. But, there was no significant difference in plasma 5-HIAA levels between alcohol dependence with and without family history. Conclusion：The authors found that the patients with alcohol dependence had the biochemical abnormalities in both dopaminergic and serotonergic neuronal systems, and there was a possible functional difference of dopaminergic system in alcohol dependence under the multifacoral genetic influence.