No abstract

Platelet and plasma amine oxidase activity was determined in a group of 99 healthy male (active duty military) alcoholics referred for hospital treatment who had been abstinent from alcohol for 2-10 days, and compared with that of a control military group. Platelet MAO activity was slightly but significantly lower in the alcoholic group. Both groups were significantly lower in MAO activity compared to a group of 42 non-military controls. In the alcoholic group there was no correlation between platelet MAO and severity or chronicity of drinking, nor was there evidence of iron deficiency to account for the lowered MAO activity. When the alcoholic and military control groups were split at the median, the first degree relatives of both the 'low' MAO alcoholics and the 'low' MAO military controls had a higher incidence of alcoholism than did the relatives of both 'high' MAO subgroups. No personal or family history data of alcohol-related problems were available on the non-military control group.

gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor binding was increased in postmortem brain samples of chronic alcoholic patients compared to control patients. Numbers of binding sites were augmented in alcoholic brain, with no change in affinity. Muscarinic cholinergic and benzodiazepine receptors did not differ between controls and alcoholic brains, while a modest reduction in beta-adrenergic receptors may have been related to postmortem receptor changes. The results suggest that GABAergic mechanisms might play a role in chronic alcoholism.

No abstract